Michel's Perspective
by AiDeeKay
Summary: Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde. Always wanted to know what he was thinking...After she left, he realized this woman was her all. What can he do to turn this human into one of his own...into an ETERNAL companion of the night?
1. Forget Her Not

Disclaimer: I do not own Companions of the Night.

* * *

He watched her leave, and wondered how much she would follow up with.

He almost expected her to turn around and tell him she would stay with him.

But he only heard her heartbeat get quieter and quieter, until it only sounded like an echo, and even then that was because he was straining himself to hear it.

He remained where he was, and silently cursed himself. The little girl had gotten away and he was sad, and not bent on killing her like he has with so many others.

_If I _ever_ come across her again, I _will_ kill her_, he thought, trying to amend his mistake though he knew he never would.

………

Two years have gone by, and he was going back to where he said he would never again go back to, even after one hundred years: Brockport.

_I need to know what my past name has gotten tangled with_, he comforted himself in saying. He still had not forgotten her, even after he had fed. He thought if the bloodlust was gone, she would be too. He was sadly mistaken.

After he woke up, he went to his "uncle's" house, to see that negotiations were running smoothly. He was going to rent some college students part of his house, and he reluctantly agreed to meet with them.

He heard they were all eighteen, or nineteen.

_Around her age, at least_, he thought, before realizing what he was doing.

He ran his hand through his hair, a gesture since he was small, and went to his house, waiting.

Ten minutes later, the would-be renters came up to the driveway, and he smelled someone; someone similar.

No. It was someone who was around that someone similar. Was it her best friend? Probably. Or maybe—the thought made him growl—a boyfriend.

_It doesn't matter what she does in her life. She was a temporary companion of the night. Nothing more; And never will be_.

He treated the teenagers courteously, though the guys were getting angry that he was getting more attention than the house from the girls.

"Nelle, Kerry called. She wants to know if you guys are still going to go to the park later tonight," said one of the girls.

"That's right! Well, Anthony," she said to Michel, "It was nice meeting you. Hopefully my friends can strike an arrangement," she said nodding her head instead of shaking his hand.

"Yes; of course," he said, distracted. He was looking at her, planning. He wanted to see Kerry, see what she told the police, and maybe get some of that blood that always sounded strong when she knew she should be quiet.

Some of the girls quietly giggled, but only Michel can hear it. They thought he took an interest in Nelle.

"Is this person going to live here too?" he asked, innocently.

"Kerry? I don't think so. She says she doesn't like big, fancy, show-off houses. Though now that I think about it, she used to love this house," said Nelle.

"Maybe her views changed when she was taken hostage," said one of the guys.

"Taken hostage?" asked Michel, seeming interested.

The guy nodded his head. "It was about two years ago. Some Ethan, or Evan –I don't remember what the news paper said—was going to take her home, and this nut took them hostage. Killed the guy, but she ended killing him."

"A nut? Why them?"

"Seems like this Evan guy was accused of being a vampire."  
"Do you believe in vampires?" he asked, with a mocking smile.

"I don't know what to believe. But I know Kerry now probably has some doubts."

"Well, what do you expect?" asked Nelle, "When you made a move on her, trying to kiss her neck?"

Michel felt jealous, but his expression told nothing.

"Well, I should go. She's waiting for me. I'll bring her over, okay John?"

"Alright. I'll call you, to tell you when to come over," he said –no doubt so that when Kerry came, Michel would be gone.

"I'll be on my way home then," said Michel, plans set. "You may rent my home for two thousand five hundred. Sounds good?" he asked. He knew he was renting them what was probably a world record, but he didn't care. The quicker they agreed, the quicker he could follow.

"Uhmm….yeah. Of course," they all said.

He left, and got inside his blue Monte Carlo, and followed Nelle.

He went into the park, and heard her heart beat. He could separate her heartbeat _anywhere_, being so used to it.

He turned around, and saw her –just as she saw him.

* * *

First story. Will make changes. Hope you like it 


	2. Silent Decision

_He left, and got inside his blue Monte Carlo, and followed Nelle._

_He went into the park, and heard her heart beat. He could separate her heartbeat __anywhere__, being so used to it._

_He turned around, and saw her –just as she saw him._

* * *

Before Kerry could even blink, Michel hid behind a tree. He felt juvenile and ridiculous, but being his cautious self, he kept hiding.

"Kerry! You won't _believe_ who is in charge of the new house we're all going to live in," said Nelle, stopping short of her excitement when she saw Kerry's expression. "Kerry? What's wrong? What happened?" asked Nelle, worried.

"Huh? Uhmm…nothing. I thought I saw someone. I probably just saw a shadow though," he heard her say. She had been a bad liar, he knew, and was surprised to hear some sincerity, though to his trained ears, he could hear it feigned. Maybe she hadn't forgotten him either.

_No. I have forgotten her. She is probably just protecting her_, he thought to himself. Hiding behind the tree was more than he could bear. He wanted to get away, before his memories would taint his decision. But it was already too late. He heard Nelle's heartbeat raise, and he listened, barely interested.

"You won't _believe_ it, but the land owner is a total hottie, Kerry. And I think he might like me," he heard Nelle say. He also heard Kerry take a silent, sudden breath intake.

"Really? How hot?"

"Ex_treme_ly hot. Like you wouldn't believe," said Nelle.

"Yea. Let me guess: Almost like his gorgeousness is beyond this world?" asked Kerry, with a little hint of sarcasm.

"Idiot," he muttered. But Kerry continued.

"What did your boy friend think of that?" Kerry asked teasingly. "Did he get jealous? Or did he boggle your land owner too?"

"No. He reminded me that you called. Oh! You should have seen John though. He was getting jealous," said Nelle.

"Hmm. I don't see why. I have already told him I see him as just a friend," said Kerry, annoyed at the turn of conversation.

"Oh, come on Kerry! You haven't had a boyfriend since the harvest dance. And you got worse when–" Nelle stopped short. She turned around, and saw a tree. Michel was laughing silently, but he didn't think anyone would hear him. No one has _that_ sensitive ears.

"Did you hear that?"

"Uhmm…how about you wait in the car," Kerry said, wearily. "I left a book by a tree."

"Alright then. But hurry up. I'm sure someone is here with us," whispered Nelle. Michel could tell she was getting very nervous.

Kerry sighed. "This _is_ New York silly. We are bound to run into a few people," said Kerry knowingly. "I'll be right back."

He heard her coming near him, straight towards him.

A small part of him wanted to just get away from her. He had come close to killing her two years ago, through intense power of will, but he knew today would be extremely different. Would she accept his offer? Another part of him wanted to tease Kerry into telling him what she told the police. Thinking diplomatically made him feel better.

"Ethan?" he heard her whisper. "Ethan. I know you're here. I know you followed Nelle. Ethan…Michel. I saw you. Please come out," he heard Kerry say. He could tell she was scared, though determined to talk to him.

He considered not answering. She stood there for about a minute, and then walked forward. Did she remember lack of conversation when he was willing to share?

He decided to stay. He would break the rules once again for this woman, and he knew he would let her walk out once again.

I hope you like it.

Thanks to MythStar Black Dragon and gigi-2000 for reading my story :)


	3. This Woman

_He considered not answering. She stood there for about a minute, and then walked forward. Did she remember his lack of conversation when he wasn't willing to share?_

_He decided to stay. He would break the rules once again for this woman, and he knew he would let her walk out once again._

* * *

He walked away from the tree, as if he was casually walking through the park. He feigned to show extremely little interest; though he could almost feel his heart rate increase to six beats per minute.

"Lurking in the shadows, Ethan?" asked Kerry. He knew Kerry was being cautious, no doubt she remembered when he felt her a nuisance and he would tease her into following silently.

"Perfect place when I have time to kill," he said, grinning when he saw her face expression. "Besides, I came to see what you told the police. They still are trying to find me you know," he said innocently.

"I told them Marsala killed you. I told them exactly what you told me to tell them," she said. She wasn't lying. But he knew she knew he was. "And," she continued, "I doubt you would have returned and risked being caught just to see that I told them everything you wanted me to."

"We're a cautious lot," he reminded her. He needlessly added: "And I would have seen them way before they saw me."

Kerry kept looking at him, and he looked behind her, and saw Nelle getting out of the car. She recognized him the second he came out of the trees.

"Kerry! You know Anthony?" asked Nelle incredulously.

Kerry gave Michel a significant look.

"We went out a few years ago," intervened Michel. "But then I had to leave quiet unexpectedly, and our relationship was cut short," he said, hurt.

Nelle stared at Michel, while Kerry gave him a disgruntled look. She mouthed the words: _You liar. You'll—_but stopped short when Nelle turned to look at her.

"You never told me this," Nelle whispered to Kerry indignantly. "Realization" came into her eyes, remembering when Kerry told her to wait in the car.

"So, Kerry," he said breezily, "Will you tell me if you'll give _us_ another chance?" he asked, knowing Kerry would rather die –no pun intended—than explain to Nelle who he really was.

"Uhmm…fine," she exasperated. "Let's go _now_ Nelle," she said, grabbing her best friend's arm, and towing her to the car.

He grinned wickedly, as Kerry looked back to him, and Nelle said "I can't believe you didn't tell me you went out with him! What kept _him_ a _secret_ for Pete's sake?"

"It was an incredibly short time we spent together. And I very much doubt you would have ever seen him any other time than on weekends," said Kerry. He wondered when she became a decent liar.

Did he have anything to do with it?

"Well, _you_ know I have shared _my_ hotties. But I guess I can see why you would keep _that_ one a secret. Are you going to go back with him?" asked Nelle. She was obviously the talker, and Kerry was obviously the listener.

Kerry sighed loud enough to show her frustration. But she kept silent.

"Don't waste a good one," said Nelle, as she turned back to see if he was still there.

He gave her a smile, and she quickly turned around, blushing.

She had no idea Michel would take her advice.

Whether or not the advice was intended for him. Which it wasn't.

"I won't," Kerry promised. She turned around. She gave him a significant look. She would play his game once again, knowing that at least this time her family wasn't in danger, and she can at least fall back upon someone _human_.

He walked towards her, smiling his subtly wicked smile. She rolled her eyes, but smiled at the last moment.

He wasn't going to stay _too_ long. He had a plan.

He would only stay long enough so that this time –one hundred percent guaranteed—she would be his eternal companion of the night. And like last time, she would decide. But as sure as Kerry meant something to Michel, Michel still meant something to Kerry.

He saw it in her eyes, as well as felt it in the quick, gentle kiss he dared to give her.

And in a very long time –two years—his what-he-thought-was-blood-lust lust subsided.

* * *

It has...grown out of what I had in mind. But hopefully, you all enjoy it :)


	4. Dormant

_As sure as Kerry meant something to Michel, Michel still meant something to Kerry._

_He saw it in her eyes, as well as felt it in the quick, gentle kiss he dared to give her._

_And in a very long time –two years—his what-he-thought-was-blood-lust lust subsided._

* * *

Apparently, Kerry had walked all the way from SUNY to the park.

Nelle wanted Kerry to ride with Michel, but he lied, and said that he too walked to the park.

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Nelle. Though unbelievable, Michel knew how to make _anything_ believable.

"I walk or run to and by the park every night. To keep in shape," he smiled. "And, honestly, my food is very hard to come to, since no one just serves it, but it can have a lot of sugar and oxidants, but there is some customer care around this area."

"Well, what is it?" asked Nelle.

"Don't worry about it," Michel disregarded the question, "I was able to find some before I met you guys." He noticed Kerry turn white.

"You okay, Kerry?" he asked, teasing, though ambivalent with worry.

"Yes, yes. I'm alright. Now–" she asked, distracting Nelle, "—where did you want me to go with you?"

"To the house Anthony rented to me and the gang. John wants to see you," said Nelle mischievously.

Again, Michel felt a stir of jealousy. He wanted to feed on John so he would leave his Kerry alone. But –again—his expression told them nothing.

Kerry sighed. "Eth—Anthony is my boyfriend again, remember?" She must have learned not to choke on the word _boyfriend_ during his absence.

_I wonder what else she has learned during my absence_.

"That's right!" said Nelle excitedly. "Anthony, Kerry and I always double date. Do you mind that?"

"Not at all," he told Nelle, and turning to Kerry, "though you and I have much to catch up on. And: who is this John again?"

"One of the guys that went with me to your house, so we can negotiate. He still hasn't said anything about living there," said Nelle quickly, "though I think he said he will if Kerry does," said Nelle, lowering her voice at the last part.

An awkward silence filled the air for about five seconds, until Kerry interrupted: "Nelle, I'll walk with Anthony back to _your_ place, yes?"

"Alright. See you two _real_ soon." Nelle left quickly, and Michel knew she would tell the people waiting at the house about what she saw. He could not only imagine this John's face; he enjoyed it.

"Your lying skills have worsened," Kerry said quietly.

"How so?" asked Anthony, taken aback. Lying was one of his perfected specialties.

"I'm sure you did drive here. Nelle probably saw you coming out with your car, but forgot in the excitement of 'finding out' I had a secret boyfriend a couple years ago."

"I left it at my apartment near here," he lied.

"You have an apartment near the park?" she asked incredulously.

He continued to walk silently for a while, letting the lie sink in.

"I will soon," he said.

Aggravated, Kerry folded her arms on her chest, and also stayed quiet for a while.

A couple minutes or so went by, and he felt Kerry wanted to ask him a question, but he remained silent.

He never really broke the silence last time they were together. And although he knew he could lie to Kerry, he felt that she was much more sharper than before, and would catch on on things that would _appear_ trivial.

"Why are you renting them your place?"

"I haven't been living in there for two years. If it continues to look empty, then they will try to trace the owner, which was me…thirty years ago."

"So you can definitely be from the sixties," said Kerry, and he heard some significance in the way she said it.

"I thought we had figured I was sometime between Erikson's America and Columbus's America," he said.

"I thought we had figured it was a 'joke,'" she rebutted.

"I thought you knew me as a liar."

"I just told you you're a bad liar."

"I just lied to you successfully."

"Whatever."

He smiled. "What are you going to tell your friends?"

"Hmm? About…?"

"Me, obviously."

"I was hoping you could tell me. You know our story better than I do."

"Are you sure?" he asked wickedly.

"Yes. I think. Tell me."

He began softly. "We met about a month or so after your accident. I had a sister who was also abducted, so we became good friends quickly –as we understood each other well. I asked you out, we went to a play, and the next day I took you to the zoo. I had barely turned seventeen, so I couldn't do anything about my parent's decision to move out of the state. I had to leave, we lost contact, etc.  
"I promised to come back though, once I was economically stable again, which we both thought would be me being eighteen. I –if my math is correct –seventeen plus two is nineteen—came back almost too late, but you welcomed me back. Nelle could work as a witness. I am guessing she's the one who convinced you into your perm two years ago?"

"Yes—believable story. I could almost swear it was the truth."

"Say it," he said significantly. It took her a couple seconds to realize what he was talking about.

"No."

He gave her an innocent expression. "Please?"

She looked in his eyes, and faltered. She sighed. "You're still an outstanding liar. Happy?"

This time, _he_ faltered in her eyes. They stopped right in front of his Victorian house.

"Almost," he said, and kissed her again. The emotions that were revealed two years ago were out in the open again, and although Michel was not very good in expressing his vampire feelings, he knew his feelings for Kerry had definitely been dormant these last two years compared to what he felt now. Even his blood lust could not compare, and for a vampire, that says a lot.

* * *

A bit longer this time. I would have posted it sooner, but no internet connection. Reviews? :)


	5. Mistake

_She looked in his eyes, and faltered. She sighed. "You're still an outstanding liar. Happy?"_

_This time, he faltered in her eyes. They stopped right in front of his Victorian house._

"_Almost," he said, and kissed her again. The emotions that were revealed two years ago were out in the open again, and although Michel was not very good in expressing his vampire feelings, he knew his feelings for Kerry had definitely been dormant these last two years compared to what he felt now. Even his blood lust could not compare, and for a vampire, that says a lot._

* * *

He was kissing her like he did two years ago; he held her face softly with both hands, and coincidentally, was even wearing the same attire: white shirt, blue jeans.

They did not make declarations this time around. They did not need to. All the "embarrassing" things were admitted at Marsala's home. _What _do_ you say when you want to tell her she means a lot? _he thought.

"Ethan," Kerry said. He smiled. He continued to kiss her, one hand holding her chin, the other her waist.

"Ethan," Kerry said again. He didn't push it, like last time. This time, he would do what he had to do to make her stay with him. He looked at her expectedly, waiting for her to say something. Two seconds had gone by, and she had nothing to say.

He would have kept looking into her hazel eyes, but he heard erratic heartbeats, and a few groans, and one _ugh_. The groans were from the disappointed girls, and the _ugh_ must have been from this John fellow.

He smiled his wicked smile, and Kerry looked wondering. _What?_ she mouthed?

"Someone is getting rather jealous," he said. He ignored the girls. He didn't know exactly how Kerry would have reacted to that, but he didn't want to be expectant.

Kerry took a step back to look at his home, and looked like she was reminiscing; but about what? Inadvertently, he remembered when Kerry had saved him from the vampire hunters; he remembered when Regina asked him in the car ride back to his house why did he let Kerry live; he remembered how he stayed quiet; he remembered when Regina asked why he kissed Kerry; he answered _that_ one: "Her blood smells delectable, don't you think?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes. I could hardly even open my mouth to talk, her smell was so strong. Did she hurt herself?" _Did she hurt herself_. Kerry was one of those people you just _know_ is the one who accidentally hurts themselves, or somehow gets herself into trouble without any outside help. As seen in the Laundromat.

"Yea. It seems that when those hunters asked her not to do something stupid, it was the first thing she did. She got a razor blade, and sliced two of her fingers," he shook his head, "I might have gone for her the moment she nicked them, but then they would have—" he cut short, deciding Regina didn't need to know everything.

Even so, she seemed to know what he didn't want her to know.

"And I'm guessing you'll look for her tomorrow?" asked Regina, more of a statement than a question.

"No. It might get her into deciding to going to the police, or something. Besides, I am hungry. I haven't fed in a few days now."

"Ethan? What's wrong?" asked Kerry, bringing him back to reality.

"Nothing," he said blandly. Then, "Come," and held out his hand.

Kerry took a step forward, and took his hand. Before they made it to the front steps, Nelle opened the door, and said, "Come on in! We're watching a scary movie," and made room for them to come in.

The girls pretended to be too engrossed to the movie to notice as Kerry and Michel walked by, but they still looked through a curtain of their hair. They almost seemed to glare at Kerry. When Michel saw John's face –he was easy to recognize, as he was the one with fuming body heat than the rest, no doubt from anger than Kerry decided to _finally_ date no other than someone that just came in to their lives—Michel kissed Kerry's hand, just like he did when they were standing in front of her house after she saved his…existence.

Kerry smiled, and sat down in the piano stool, where Michel sat next to her. Though Michel hadn't played his piano for a while, it was clean, and had music sheets on top. They were not his, he noticed, as his were original, and, well, very, very, very old. He didn't need them to find that kind of proof in his home, when they have admitted to believing that there _might_ be vampires. All of his old belongings were still in the house, but were in hidden compartments.

_Damn vampire caginess_, as Kerry once so elegantly put it.

The movie was, of all things, _Queen of the Damned_. He hardly payed any attention to the movie; he remembered when he played Joplin and Righteous Brothers' _Un_c_hained Melody_ for Kerry. He remembered when they were at Regina's house, and he took her hand for the first time. He even remembered when they went into that shop in the sleazy part of town in Rochester.

By the time the movie was over, it was three thirty, and everybody looked like they were ready to drop dead.

"Kerry?" asked Nelle. Michel had made everyone in the room sleepy, but it seemed like Nelle was holding up better than most. He had the feeling that she procrastinated on huge projects, and was able to ignore that kind of stuff.

Kerry, however, was nodding her head. "Whaa—?"

"Are you going to live with me and the others?"

"Uhmm…"

"Anthony, will you stay to live with us too?" Nelle whispered. "I'm positive Kerry will stay if you do too," she looked a little pleadingly.

"Well, I have a condo by the park, and I've been paying it for a while," he didn't know how to phrase the next question impassively quickly enough: "Is this John going to rent here too?"

"Uhh…well, if you don't want him to…" Nelle wavered.

"No, no. Don't worry about it. I just would like to know."

"Well, he said he would when I asked him again after I came back."

"Alright. Thanks Nelle," he said. He turned to Kerry, and before he could speak, Nelle said: "If you're worried about John as competition, you should really take a good look at yourself in the mirror," she smiled.

"I'll be sure to do that," he said, smiling back. "Kerry? Stay with Nelle, ok?"

"Uhmm…" said Kerry, trying to shake the daze out of her system.

"I won't charge _you_," he whispered in her ear, and he knew Kerry could hear the grin in his voice.

"Mmk," she said, and turned to Nelle. "Which one is my room?"

"This baby has ten rooms, so right now there are two free. Uhh…" she looked at Michel.

"You can have the master bedroom Kerry," said Michel. Again, he knew Kerry could hear the wicked grin in his voice.

"Thank you, Ethan," she replied sarcastically; though a second later, she froze.

"Ethan? Did you just call Anthony _Ethan_?" asked Nelle. John and Nelle's boyfriend overheard Nelle and looked at their direction.

_Now what do I do?_ thought Michel.

* * *

Wow. I have been writing on and on and on. More soon. Literally.

Again, I would like to thank Maria for always reading my story.

It is very much appreciated :D


	6. Quick Fix

"_Thank you, Ethan," she replied sarcastically; though a second later, she froze._

"_Ethan? Did you just call Anthony Ethan?" asked Nelle. John and Nelle's boyfriend overheard Nelle and looked at their direction._

Now what do I do?_ thought Michel._

* * *

He knew he could get out of the situation, but he didn't know how to tell Kerry to cooperate with him.

She wasn't looking at him; instead, she was staring at the ground, no doubt trying to think of a way out of it too.

"Ethan is my middle name," Michel said, somewhat embarrassed. He gave Kerry a _watch-it_ look, and he smiled embarrassed back at Nelle and the gang. The look both told Kerry to play along as well as looking like he was giving her a _not-in-front-of-other-people_ look.

Kerry looked relieved for a split second, but later composed her face.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know you didn't like your middle name," though she smiled. She enjoyed being a nuisance for him, but she knew she had to protect what he really was. She didn't need her friends going vampire hunters on him and making her choose.

Or maybe that could be it? Would she choose him over her best friend? Over _all_ her friends? _He_ didn't want to create that sort of situation. Even by vampire standards, it was excessively needlessly complicated. What would he tell the other vampires in Rochester or Buffalo? He had barely convinced them not to go after Kerry or her family, and that was hard enough. But to let an entire group of people live knowing that there was a vampire, and he took the girl who should have died, and let her live _again_?

Michel sighed. "It's okay… I suppose. Good night everybody," he smiled at her and began to walk back to the front door. The others said good night, and began to retreat to their new rooms. Kerry followed Michel.

"I'm sorry, really," she whispered.

"What if they remembered that they guy you left with was named _Ethan_? Or that I so precisely fit his description? We're—"

"—A cautious lot—yea, I know. Now what do we do?"

"_I_ will go home," he said. "_You_ might as well keep calling me Ethan," then distracted, "John is spying on you," he said, smirking.

She took a step closer. "Really? On me, or you?"

"Both," he contemplated, and he grabbed both her hands, and gave them a kiss. "Will you react this time?" he asked her.

"Uhmm…" she said. Michel rolled his eyes, gave her a second, and decided to just give her the kiss.

"Good night, Kerry," he said, and started to walk out.

"Good night, Ethan," she said.

He was half way to the park, when he faintly heard her whisper: "Another bizarre meeting."

_Tomorrow might be more bizarre_, he thought.

Now that they were out on the open with her friends, how should he act? The last time they went on a date, he saw acquaintances of his, but they didn't talk to each other. Just a friendly wave. He usually walked to them, but back then, he still suspected Kerry was trying to escape. And he also didn't want to leave her side for reasons _other_ than vampire caginess.

_What's my excuse for running into her again_? he thought. He decided he didn't need any.

He would appear as soon as the sun set, and he would be waiting for her.

_Maybe what was left of the sunlight will shine in her hair_… he thought, before stopping himself. Though no one was near, he hardly ever thought about that kind of embarrassing stuff. He might blush. Though, technically, he couldn't blush.

But that human instinct hasn't left him, even after all those years of a supernatural existence.

Neither has love, or nervousness, for that matter.

* * *

Short, yes, but I think it's good.

I would like to know what people think of the story. Is it going on a good direction, is it faltering a little, or a simple mistake that doesn't connect to my other chapters?

Reviews would be greatly appreciated :)


	7. All Over Again

_Though no one was near, he hardly ever thought about that kind of embarrassing stuff. He might blush. Though, technically, he couldn't blush._

_But that human instinct hasn't left him, even after all those years of supernatural existence._

_Neither has love, or nervousness._

* * *

He went back to his car, and went to his other home in Rochester, a small apartment. There was still time to kill until sunlight, and he hadn't fed in a couple days.

He decided to feed. He needed to. If he went anymore days without food, he might turn into an uncontrollable beast. He went to a party at the University of Rochester, and had his fill, in which he left, with only fifteen minutes until he should be asleep.

He barely made it home and closed the shutters, then went to his room, where he had several covers on the lone, small window. He took a breath in, which he didn't exhale.

* * *

He woke up at around 4:45, since it was still early winter. He changed clothes, and felt refreshed. He had fed, and he didn't go overboard.

He watched television while he waited for dusk to settle in. Twilight looked beautiful today, but he wanted to meet her in the night of night. Maybe at around eight. Or maybe nine.

Ten after eight, he left his apartment.

"Michael. Off to feed again?" someone asked. _Crap_.

"Anne. No: I'm off to enjoy the night." _Bitch. You got me caught last time._ He suspected she wanted to ask him a favor. She only called him Michael when she wanted a favor. Though he couldn't blame her nerve, since she didn't even know he got captured.

But, then again, only his group of vampires did, which were few. He never created covens because he knew vampires were never completely loyal, or truthful. He was only friends with the people that were created in his old town. He knew them since he was human. He trusted them, and many a time they have come through for him. So other than them, no one knew.

"Michael. I heard what happened to you last time," she told him, looking for a reaction. She didn't get one. Well, he thought no one else knew. Word must have gotten around about the girl that escaped from the vampire hunters that managed to kill Regina Sloane, and had captured Michael, the "ruler" of Brockport, New York. Regina came after Michael, and vampires tend to respect the veteran vampire of anything smaller than a town. Those humans were his subjects, and they had to get permission from him to feed. And he usually let them feed –for a price that usually benefited only him. Not many vampires liked being in Brockport. So many of their inhabitants were healthy, and smelled…well, delectable. Regina Sloane only stayed that long for two reasons: One, she loved a human that lived there, and two: she couldn't leave since she was killed indefinitely.

He sighed loudly. He smiled his ready smile, and said, "I'm alright. Alive, obviously."

"Yes. But I wanted to ask you something," she said, a little uncertainly. He waited patiently. "Why didn't you kill the girl? Is there a bond that gets created when saved by a human?" she asked, almost desperately.

"You were caught, then saved by a human," he said, more statement than question.

She didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

"I felt the bond immediately, whether she would have helped me and risked her life or not," he answered, completely honest for the first time about the subject.

"I see. Then, why didn't you offer her?"

He stayed quiet for a minute, not sure if to tell her. Why not? She understood him, because she has been one of those few vampires saved _by a human_.

"She refused," he said quietly. The apartments were dominated by vampires, though everyone usually was out by this time. Like he should have been.

"How about you take your savior with you and come with me. I am about to meet her," he said, not really thinking about it.

She thought about it for a few seconds. "Alright. Where do you want to meet?"

"Laundromat," he said.

"That's where I was brought," she said, alarmed.

"You mean—" _Fuck. There are _still_ vampire hunters associated with the Laundromat?_

"Never mind," he said. "Meet me at Bergen Swamp. We need to discuss some things." They walked to their respective directions, and Michel got into his car. He would go to the park.

Kerry is very insightful. If she would want to see him again, she would be waiting for him there.

He got to the park, and didn't see her. He got off the car, to see if maybe she was on the other side, but didn't see her either. He didn't hear much, except two heartbeats beating wildly. Probably teenagers.

Of course, the fact that they both breathed like guys threw Michel off. No, not teenagers; two grown up men, waiting for something. He remembered this climax. They were waiting for the perfect time to attack.

In the time he lost thinking about it, he caught her scent. Was she coming? Or was she captured by these guys? Should he go straight to them, or pretend to leave?

He didn't know. He was at a loss, but couldn't afford to be, not with Kerry in possible danger.

He heard an old car turn off, and he almost smiled with relief. It was Kerry's father's car. He turned around and saw her. She was rolling up her windows, and when she saw him, she smiled.

_Maybe those two guys are gay_, he thought, leaving to meet her. _Or maybe not. Maybe they saw me talk with Anne? No. I was driving way too quickly for them to catch up, let alone be at the park and wait for me. But they are suspicious. They were involved with Anne's capture. I can't lead them to her._

"Kerry," he said, a little worried.

"What happened?" she asked.

"A vampire was caught yesterday, and I think that the people I hear now are vampire hunters." He saw her turn white, and reassured her.

"Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you. But I would like to know: You will help me?"

She thought about it. It almost looked like she would deny her services, but in the end, her face became determined.

He smiled before she told him yes.

"Where are we headed?" she asked.

"Do you remember Bergen Swamp?"

* * *

Well, new chapter. Do you like it?

School has started, so I don't have much time to let my imagination run wild.

Keep telling me what you think :)


	8. Back in History

_He smiled before she told him yes._

"_Where are we headed?" she asked._

"_Do you remember Bergen Swamp?"_

* * *

"What? Bergen Swamp? Did the—" she said, before lowering her voice "—did the vampire die?"

Michel grabbed hold of her shoulders. "No. Someone saved her. A human." Kerry's eyes bugged up and her mouth dropped.

He smiled. She is truly amusing. Maybe she recognized his smile, because she frowned, and looked almost angry. His amusement grew even more.

"Are you going to tell me why it is that I have to go with you to meet a _vampire_?" she asked, testily.

He liked the amusement she brought him, but he still loved the sound of her heartbeat more. And there were two ways…

"Did you forget what I am?" he told her, holding the back of her head and putting his lips on her throat. _Ba_-_thump_-_thump_-_thump_. There. He waited for her to say something. She would. She would say a smart ass remark.

"Hard to forget when I can all but feel your teeth," she said with a shaky breath.

"Then I'll have to remind you, eh?" he said, going for way number two.

He kissed her. It was quickly becoming custom to him, though this was only day –or night—two that he has seen her again. He recalled his feeble attempt to try to amend his mistake two years ago, knowing he would have never carried it out completely. He would only go as far as going back to Brockport and maybe stalk her for a while –nothing serious, albeit creepy.

But no. Here he was, kissing her as if they have been lovers for years, decades, centuries; as old as America.

He could feel Kerry smiling, and pulled back.

"What?" he asked.

"Nostalgia," she said. She looked at him for a while, and he was almost willing to lose himself in her hazel eyes.

"We should go," he said, noticing that the two men were starting to go back to their car, no doubt to follow him.

"Won't they follow you though?" she asked him.

He remained quiet. He grabbed her hand and led her to her car. He opened the passenger door for her, and she got in silently, knowing that he wouldn't answer her questions anyway.

He got in the driver's seat and held out his hand to her. She began to look for her keys and couldn't find them.

"I don—" she said, before she saw that he already had her keys. She looked at him confused. He kept his hand out for her, and she warily gave him her hand. She obviously didn't know what he wants.

Once her hand was firmly in his, he looked at her again for three deep seconds, and a hint of a hint of a smile showed on his face.

He drove with one hand in the direction of Buffalo, seeing that the men were still following him.

_Could be more than them_, he thought, learning the last time not to underestimate human vampire hunters –the hard way.

He would lead them to Buffalo, and get another car. He would go to Rochester, and get the Monte Carlo under Regina's name, which they used last time, except that another vampire now had custody to it, though they hardly ever used it. Next he would go back to Buffalo, losing them, and get Kerry's car back. This would be driven by another vampire. Complicated, but the simplest under the circumstances.

"Where are we going?" asked Kerry after fifteen minutes of riding. He had still not let go of Kerry's hand.

"Buffalo," he said after a minute. "We need to lose the people who are following us. As well as I don't want this car in Bergen Swamp. Must I review why?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Why Buffalo?"

"The farthest location from anyone you might know, as well as a lot of back up shall we have to confront them," he said, knowing she would react.

She did. "Back up? As in vampire friends? As in…non-human friends? I thought we were going to Bergen Swamp," she said, her voice getting louder.

He could tell she was trying to get swallowed by her anger, and she tried to pull her hand away. But he just couldn't let her.

"Would you rather have your friends facing danger?" he asked, seeing that she was getting madder than he would have thought. Had she developed a temper?

"Are you threatening me?" she asked.

He was shocked at her question. She must have seen it, because she relented. "No," he said, shaking his head for emphasis. "I'm trying to protect your friends and family. I don't want you blaming me for something that can be avoided by doing what we are doing right now."

She couldn't argue with that, and sighed. "Where in Buffalo?" she asked, calmly.

He smiled. "You won't like it, so—"

"—you'd rather not tell me," she finished.

"No, I'll tell you, and you'll decide if you will be my accomplice once again."

"I already told you I would," Kerry pointed out.

"Alright," he said breezily. "In that case: We will lose them by going to Rochester to get another car, then back here in Buffalo to retrieve your car—or on second thought—I'll just ask someone to drive it back to Brockport for us, saves us time, and that way the men won't be going back and recognizing us in your car."

"Doesn't sound that bad."

"I don't know how long it would take to lose them," he said.

"I've been in worse," Kerry said calmly.

"I don't know if they will try to attack us," he pressed.

She stayed quiet or a while. She then looked at him, daring him to keep testing her.

_She's definitely changed_. This new air she carried with her was that of confidence, similar to that of the Laundromat when she rescued him, though she did not realize her confidence back then, but different in that she faced her fears a little fearlessly, as paradoxically as it sounds.

He liked that. She is funny, smart, beautiful, and confident. They don't get much better than that.

"Have you fed?" she asked, her heartbeat speeding up at the thought.

_Hmm…how was I looking at her?_ he wondered. He went from serious to amused quickly. He would be hungry for her blood when the time came.

He had not forgotten his goal. She _will_ be his eternal companion of the night.

"Recently," he said, phrasing his word carefully. A slight relief came in her face, then resentment, no doubt for feeling that relief.

"Uhmm…" she said, a little nervously. "Can you please watch the road?"

He rolled his eyes, and laughed quietly. He turned his eyes to the road, but not his attention. He has gone through speeding freeways with less attention than that.

"_This_ is my car," he said, once they parked next to a brand new Lexus. It was customized, of course, with black tinted windows. Literally, black inside, except the front windshield, though he could have seen with no problem if it had been darker. He knew she knew enough about cars, even if her vocabulary about them referred otherwise.

While he was getting her books in his car, he heard squeals, and the opening of cars, as well as two sets of feet running towards…Kerry.

He couldn't do much, since he knew humans would see his unnatural speed and strength, but then again, what would it matter if she died? Or if they hurt her? He would kill them on the spot. Or torture them in the most inhumane ways he could think of, and he is old and has seen many, many, many ways people have been tortured. He came close to being tortured for…never mind.

He was quickly behind one of the men, the one who wasn't holding Kerry, and got ready to yank heads off.

"Let him go or I'll kill this bitch," he said.

"Kill her, I kill everyone who means most to you, and trust me, I'll make it so that you won't be able to kill yourself. And your friend will die, on the spot," he said, in a serious, vehement voice.

Usually, he kept his voice low and even, but not today. He could see Kerry's panicked face coming close to hyperventilation.

The man who had Kerry relented. Finally, he let her go, but tried to draw out a gun.

Before anyone –human— could react, someone else got into the situation.

The man's gun went flying towards the apartments near where Michel had parked, and a goddamned incredibly good looking guy came out, holding the man's shoulders.

"Mike, how ya been?" he asked, in a slight southern accent.

* * *

Feels weird adding new characters, but might as well make them slightly funny, no?


	9. Violence!

_Before anyone –human— could react, someone else got into the situation._

_The man's gun went flying towards the apartments near where Michel had parked, and a goddamned incredibly good looking guy came out, holding the man's shoulders._

"_Mike, how ya been?" he asked, in a slight southern accent._

* * *

Kerry, meanwhile, was standing behind Michel.

"Ethan?" she asked, scared. "Who is that?" Although she whispered it –or, to be precise, she breathed it—they both knew he would have heard them anyways.

"Are you goin' to introduce us?" he asked, once he knocked the man unconscious.

Michel noticed that while Kerry had seen violence before, she never saw it be done as if it didn't consider a thought.

She started wide-eyed at the new vampire, not knowing is she should look away because his incredible looks made her uncomfortable, or if his violence should be what scared her.

"Kerry, this is Luke," Michel told Kerry warily. Luke was one of those vampires that believed humans were only a resource. He had never bonded with on. Or so he said. Michel had the feeling Luke has bonded before, but the person must have left him, for whatever reasons.

"Nice to meet ya Kerry," Luke said pleasantly enough, but Michel could hear the thirst behind his voice. Luke must have heard the transparency of his words too, because Luke began to smile.

Kerry's heartbeat rose up. Yea, Luke is drop dead gorgeous, but his smile was devastatingly sinister.

"Uhm, nice to meet you too," Kerry said in a quiet, calm voice.

Luke looked at Kerry as long as politeness called for, but quickly turned to Michel. "Anna is in a tight predicament. Have ya heard?" Through his peripheral vision, Michel saw Kerry's eyebrows rise up. That amused him. Of course, everyone thought Luke wasn't… eloquent with words. But then again, vampires extend their vocabulary significantly throughout the years.

Michel was reminded of Anne waiting for them at Bergen Swamp by now. "Yes. She… mentioned what happened. I told her I would assist her," he said in a way that would end all discussion with anyone else.

But not Luke.

"Well that's nice. And I'm guessing the lady right here was the one to help _you_?"

"Yes." Luke's smile returned. To Kerry, it seemed like every vampire specialized in one smile.

Michel specialized in an amused smile, Regina with a distant smug smile, and Luke with a sinister smile.

"Well, back to the matter at hand," Luke went on –serious, and his accent almost disappeared. "Anna told me that you were meeting her at Bergen Swamp and she invited me to come along. Is this the reason for your visit?"

Yes," Michel said. Then: "You shouldn't come."

Luke feigned wounded shock. "And why not Mike?"

Kerry noticed that whenever he teased, Luke's accent was more apparent. Despite sounding like a "hick," Kerry was still scared of him, made obvious by her strong grip on Michel's arm.

"You have the worst temper, _and_ the most sinister sense of humor." Though Michel usually admired any sense of humor, Anne's human might not appreciate it. Or Kerry, for that matter.

"Well, irregardless, I'm goin'. Oh, and I'm guessing you want your car back. It's due for a paint job tomorrow at Rochester."

"Very well, thank you. Ahm, where are my license plates?"

"Just drill those out, and yours should come out nice and clean."

"What about my car?" Kerry asked carefully, the first thing she said in a while.

"If ya want, I'll drive it to where ya want," Luke suggested. _Truly_ suggested. It would be up to Kerry.

Kerry gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

Michel led Kerry to the passenger side of his car. While he was going round to his side, Luke leaned on Kerry's car, and folded his arms.

"You like her that much huh?"

"I suppose I do." _You have no idea how_ much.

Luke wasn't looking at Michel as he said it, but more towards the sky.

"Just a little longer, and she would turn into one of us." _Bingo_. What he was really after. Luke is an expert with that kind of stuff. He just knows how much someone feels, and can see things in them they themselves can't see.

"Thanks bro," Michel said, getting into the car and heading to Bergen Swamp.

Luke said it. It _will_ happen.

Why else would Michel stay friends with someone so violent for so long— apart from the fact that they were like brothers…since the same vampire had made them so long ago?

* * *

Luke. How does he work for you? Hope you are liking this so far :)


	10. Insecurity and Mistake Nuber Two

_Luke said it. It __will__ happen._

_Why else would Michel stay friends with someone so violent for so long— apart from the fact that they were like brothers…since the same vampire had made them so long ago?_

* * *

Michel handed the keys to Luke through the open window, and started to drive.

"Aren't you going to wait for your friend?" Kerry asked, with the slightest emphasize on _friend_.

"He'll catch up soon enough," Michel told her pleasantly.

And he did. Within minutes he was in the freeway, going faster than Michel was.

"My dad is going to kill me," Kerry said, her hand covering her face.

Michel smirked, but composed himself quickly. Oh, the irony.

No, her father would not kill her. He would. Of course, she would still be alive or…whatever it is that vampires are.

He himself couldn't figure it out yet.

While he lost the time thinking that, Kerry asked him, "Can you please tell your friend to not drive the car too harshly? There's some sort of problem in it."

While Michel just looked at her bemused, Kerry looked nervous. She always looked nervous when he would look at her instead of the road. He never reassured her, since she already knew what he was, but her fear made her heart beat faster.

And to be honest, Michel liked the sound of her heartbeat. It was just so melodic, so…unique. Every emotion contained a special heartbeat. He knew when she was mad, sad, happy, confused, nervous, and just thinking of nothing with relevance.

Well, as of this moment, her heartbeat was having erratic beats. Too fast when she thought about her car; and too slow when she thought about who was driving it. Definitely a mixture of anger and anxiety for her…Ahem…old car.

"He probably took a couple minutes longer than usual to fix any problems it had," Michel said blandly. Luke may sound dumb when you hear his accent, but he would definitely have no problem in MIT or even IIT (Indian Institution of Technology…which over half of MIT students flunk out of. Just an interesting fact.).

Kerry just blinked. Vampires are not nice. She has had experience with that, Michel thought leeringly. Kerry also took into consideration Luke's violence, because for a moment, Kerry sounded as if she was scared.

He directed his attention back to driving, letting her chose how she would feel about Luke: Scared or grateful.

"Well," Kerry said, as if her speechlessness was her being more stunned than anything, "That was…nice of him."

"He usually can't refrain himself from helping a lady," Michel said, still looking at the road instead of her.

Despite his self-assurances that he was not jealous, he couldn't help it. Luke is _extremely_ good looking; he is _incredibly_ nice once you get to know him –and when he's away from violent situation.

In all, he hardly lied. He was straight and to the point. He didn't lie to anyone, because he would rather be honest than protect any human's fragile mind. He only lied when it concerned his pride, with the case of never having bonded to anyone. Or was that just Michel being paranoid about any little lie?

_Enough_. _I do think Luke is lying about the bond, and I'm positive Kerry has no interest in him…I think_.

That might have been his first insecurity about himself.

He tried to compose himself mentally. Outside, Kerry was oblivious to his internal struggle.

Well, _that_ in itself didn't make him feel better. He was too good a liar for someone who knew him better than any other person to notice.

_Okay, well maybe it does make me feel a little better. I would rather not tell her my plan until I am positive her answer is _yes.

It was getting very late, and Luke did not slow down. Heading to Bergen Swamp again in his car was not an enjoyable plan, but having more than one car is so suspicious, the vampire hunters would find them easily.

Kerry stifled a yawn, but groaned when she saw Michel look at her.

"Ethan –please tell me—do you plan on forcing me to fall asleep?" she asked, slowly, deliberately.

"Rest. We have forty-five minutes left. I'll wake you up. I promise."

Kerry did not argue with him. She sighed in relief, smiled at him and closed her eyes. Within a minute, her breathing was deep and relaxed.

Michel sighed. Her heartbeat sounded normal now, but it still contained a hint of a beautiful melody.

The silent car ride helped him to feel better because she definitely trusted him, whether he lied or not. To him, it demonstrated her faith more than when she risked her life for him when Marsala was about to shoot him to death.

To trust someone who has lied so many times…he hoped he could learn to do that. Damn his caginess.

Once he turned off the car, he saw Anne and the guy who saved her. Luke had parked Kerry's car where no one would see it, in case the guy he knocked unconscious would try to follow them.

"Kerry," he nudged. Hmm…must be in her REM sleep.

"_Kerry_," Michel said, a little more annoyed.

Apparently, Kerry was violent sleeper herself, because she almost slapped him. Maybe .01 mph more and she would have slapped him.

"Okay," Michel grunted. He took off her seat belt and dragged her to the driver's side. Kerry must have felt being moved, because she woke up instantly. Seeing who it was, she calmed seconds later.

She kept her dignity by not screaming, and stood up by herself. That still didn't stop Michel from holding his hand out to her. Turning around, he saw Luke and Anne look at him with a very small shred of their curiosity. They could hide it well, but not for _this_.

As soon as Kerry saw someone as nervous as she was, she calmed down even more. At least she wasn't the most ignorant about the situation.

"Anne, this is Kerry Nowicki. She saved my…life…two years ago." Anne half-smiled at Kerry and bowed her head. Okay. She mastered the innocent half-smile. _And_ the man has no clue as to what they really are, except that they came close to dying as well.

"Nice to meet you Kerry, this is Seth Sloane. He just saved my life yesterday."

Both Kerry and Michel looked up quickly.

_Sloane_.

Regina.

_Did_ she have kids before being turned into a vampire? Or did this person just coincidentally share the last surname?

Michel didn't think so, and apparently, neither did Kerry.

"What brought you to Brockport?" Kerry asked off-hand.

"Well," Seth said, looking uncomfortable, but decided to trust them. "I am adopted, and heard that my grandmother Regina Sloane lived here. I came here yesterday, ran into the Laundromat by Main Street and saw her and a couple of guys…hitting her."

Kerry looked away quickly. She had seen Michel bleed, cut him for his freedom, and came close to dying herself.

"How did you get away?" she asked.

"I don't know. I was too shocked at what I saw. I mean four _guys_ attacking a _woman_. They pulled me in and tried to tie me but I pulled out my knife—" he pulls out his knife and shows it to her, "—and told them to back off. Anne was tied up, so I just took her like she way, untying the one rope that held her to the bench. We got in my car and I drove as fast as I could without rising suspicion. "

Michel took a while to digest this. He had long ago stopped blaming himself for killing Regina, but knowing that people were looking for her in his city and having to tell them that she would never be found just made the blame come back.

Kerry sensed this, and stepped closer.

"Did you find your grandmother?" Kerry asked quietly.

_Oh no. Why did you ask that? He'll make the connection_.

"She hasn't been seen for—" and suddenly _he_ looked up sharply.

* * *

So, I basically wanted to add drama and "oh-the-irony!" kind of thing.

Did I do a good job?


	11. LeeOok

"_Did you find your grandmother?" Kerry asked quietly._

_Oh no. Why did you ask that? He'll make the connection._

"_She hasn't been seen for—" and suddenly he looked up sharply. _

* * *

At first, Kerry did not understand why he stopped so suddenly, and looked at him, encouraging him to continue. He looked at Michel and Kerry warily now, thinking he might be overanalyzing the situation.

_He has no idea how right he partially is_, Michel thought bitterly to himself.

"Seth, are you alright?" Michel asked, after it looked like he was putting pieces together. Michel spoke as if he was curious, but concerned. Like an innocent person would be.

Seth was blinking fast, trying to get any bad ideas about them.

Anne suddenly looked at Michel with caution. She sensed the danger. And apparently, so did Luke.

"Are ya gonna go back to the vampire hunters?" Luke asked Seth cockily. Seth had witnessed those four men beating Anne up, and Luke's encouraging comment (as we all know, he was encouraging Seth to be violent) did the opposite what Luke would have wanted.

"Oh, no. Of course not. I simply…I spaced out," Seth finished lamely. He stared at the ground.

_Seems like this bond is history now_. He looked at Anne. She was definitely too cautious to keep the bond alive.

Should they just get rid of him now?

Well, not in front of Kerry, but she would know why she would suddenly be the most ignorant one about vampires again. She liked this promotion.

Anne looked at Luke and something about her face made Luke smile his sinister smile.

How to describe his sinister smile?

Well, his face darkened just a bit. He would pull an eyebrow up, almost as if he was amused –which he was. Just thinking about anything violent was an adrenaline rush for him. He had a crooked smile. His right side smiled much more higher, while his left side kept a more silent smile.

But the broad, silent smile is what made it so _sadistic_.

His gray eyes that looked so innocent made it complete: sinister.

Michel remembered the first time he met Luke.

It had been…quite a while ago. Michel had been in Italy trying to find a way to be human again after being a vampire for decades. He didn't like having to kill people for his own consumption. He did not like his inability to have control. For heaven's sake, he would have beaten Napoleon in taking over if he was human, that was how much he was always in control.

Now? He could barely control his thirst. He blamed the man who created him. He blamed his mother for selling him to an unknown man. He blamed himself for being too terrified to prevent what happened to him.

In the village Michel was in, he saw that the sun set early. Or, he woke up earlier than usual and slept less. But that was okay. He liked this village.

Sure, it was very poor, and the hygiene wasn't as it was in his family's house, but he was beginning to learn to curve his thirst. He did not jump at the first person he saw alone in a dark part of his or her stable; he did not get anyone afraid of him as he usually did when someone met his eyes.

Twilight was a beautiful time of day for him. He loved seeing the sun, and always imagined himself and the love of his life –not that he had found her yet—to share the twilight together, and he would get to see its light reflected in her hair, her beautiful hair.

Now, decades later, he was very unemotional, women seemed to only want him because he was devilishly good looking, and they had no idea how close they were when they would describe him in between themselves.

Then, he saw his creator look hungrily at Luke. His hatred towards the man who turned him made Michel want to help this young man. Regardless, he was turned.

An interesting fact: Luke did not have a name. He was a traveling peasant, as was normal at the time, and did not have a name, which even then, was _not_ normal.

Luke was violent even when he was human, and being turned into a vampire was something he did not accept graciously. True, he _chose_ to swallow the blood that would make him immortal, but he didn't even know what was really going on. He was too close to death to think…coherently.

Sharing a common interest, they banded together and killed their creator. Yea, it was horrible of them. They were shunned by the vampiric community for years before they just moved to the New World.

Years later, Luke still didn't have a name. And they simply just stated what they wanted to say, no names needed since they only talked to each other. Well…each other and the people they would drink blood from.

Michel wanted Luke's name to have significance. Lucifer was –and still is, of course—a name for the devil. The Italian version of something similar would be Lucius, but that meant a bringer of light…contradictory, but "Luke" would fit so perfectly.

Michel had found a friend that together could cause mischief, as well as a true friend.

Sadly, Luke fell in love with the South…well, that's what he says. He fell in love with a Southern lady. Young, tenacious, pretty. He continued the archaic ideal of courtly love. Maybe that was why they never got together; or why he never turned her or why he didn't do what was needed to become human again. Michel tried to convince Luke to go to New England with him afterwards, where opportunities were arising. Luke didn't budge for many years.

_It hasn't been until recently that Luke has suddenly moved to Buffalo_, Michel thought.

"Well then, Seth, we'll drive ya home if ya like," Luke said, pulling Michel away from the memories.

"_I'll_ drive him home," Anne said, slightly protectively.

Luke's smile stayed in place. "Alright," was all he said.

It was moments like these when one wouldn't expect Luke to be so…impatient.

* * *

I began to write this right after I finished the last chapter. I wrote more on the sixth (My Birthday!), and again today.

So far, this has been the hardest chapter for me. I hope it doesn't confuse people since I wrote different parts in different days.

Enjoy :)


	12. Insecure Doubletake and Mischevious Gent

"_I'll__ drive him home," Anne said, slightly protectively._

_Luke's smile stayed in place. "Alright," was all he said._

_It was moments like these when one wouldn't expect Luke to be so…impatient.

* * *

_

Of course, why should they suspect him? Innocent, gray-eyed, Southern, pale, frail-looking… Perfectly harmless.

_Must Kerry always see the worst of everything? Must she always know the extreme negatives but not the slightest positives?_

Michel had only recently begun to appreciate immortality. Had he been mortal, he would probably be used as gasoline to fuel cars, and he would never have met Kerry, or his best friend, Luke.

His age was definitely something many vampires admired. Clearly he knew his way with people, and fellow vampires want to be his ally in times of need...their need of course.

Michel was the richest, along with Luke. They shared the money from their master, and they had properties and investments _everywhere_.

Basically, they were guys any female vampire would want. How ironic they would fall for _humans_.

Kerry knew Michel was well-off, she just didn't know to what extent. Michel knew vampires wanted his and Luke's infinite money to aid them with their enemies.

Which is why they never sided in vampire wars. They were simply helpers of the weaker or fairer vampire or coven. Harriet Tubmans.

"It's nice meeting you," Seth smiled at Kerry, and nodded at Michel and Luke.

Ah, Luke. He looked at Michel, expectantly. Michel chuckled. What was friendly for himself and Luke was slightly dark for any human.

Seth quickly glanced at Michel and Kerry interchangeably and quickly. His instincts told him Michel was…well…on the offensive of his mate.

"Right, bye then," he said once more. He looked back at Anne. She threw Luke and Michel a dirty look, and strode of with Seth at her heels.

Kerry rolled her eyes, and Michel held her hand a little more tightly.

She pretended not to notice, but you know how it is with amazingly hot and sweet vampires. She forgave him seconds later by giving his hand a squeeze.

"So, where do ya want yer car next pretty lady?" Luke asked audaciously. _You're lucky I know you this well_.

Michel was feeling slightly jealous again, protective. Kerry is his, he is hers. No if's or but's about it. But echoing his jealousy was melancholy.

He was jealous of his best friend. He was jealous because the more he thought about it, the more he knew Kerry would once again deny his offer of eternal life and love. What made him think she would choose him over a normal, safe life? What made him think she honestly did not want this John fellow? What made him think she actually loved him because of him, not because of his looks, or his wealth, or his…

This was getting to too much. Luke sensed the internal conflict Michel was having, and quickly backed off of all joking.

"I'll drive yer car Mike," Luke said solemnly, no hint of sarcastic smile on his face.

_Great. My brother knows he's triggered something in me. What is she _doing_ to me? No, what am I leading _myself_ to?_

Michel wordlessly gave Luke the keys, but his eyes told Luke something else: _Thank you. And I'm very sorry_.

Out loud, Luke said the only thing a caring brother would say: "Don't worry about it Mike. I wouldn't want to lose someone like that either."

--

In the car, Kerry immediately asked, "What are you worried about?"

Michel considered not answering, but he did not think his turbulent mind could afford it.

"You," he said bluntly.

"Are you worried I don't _love_ you enough?" she asked, hurt. She quickly understood. She _had_ been the one to first say she loved him. She was the one who admitted her feeling in Marsala's home.

Michel also did, but not as bluntly as Kerry. _"Is there any chance you would ever change your mind?"_ he asked her. He basically begged her right there.

"I am not worried about that—" _I am worried about my insecurities_ "—is that what you're asking?"

"I am asking, well, I am _telling_ you right now: I…" she blushed, not having said this in a very, very long time. "I love you, very much. More than you know. And I don't think other handsome vampires are going to change my mind so easily. Why would you think that?" she asked, not going to cry, but definitely not happy about his internal thoughts.

_Say it. Say it coward. Tell her what is bugging you, and maybe you can go to being happy you are seeing her face, smelling her…_ he sighed.

Before he can thoroughly think his response, he blurted out, "I worry my insecurities will be the downfall," he said, looking straight ahead the entire time.

There, he had made a confession. He has opened himself _fully_ in a way he never did before. Now he _seriously_ might blush. Luke heard everything. He can even hear Luke laughing like he heard Dane Cook pull a good one.

_He'll never let this go_ Michel thought bitterly.

Kerry smiled. _She…SMILED?_

"If your being a vampire didn't scare me, what makes you think a human quality will? And tell Luke not to laugh. I think that was cute." Luke roared louder at that.

_Oh god_ he thought shakily. _How am I ever going to live through Luke's poking fun of me?_

Suddenly, he wanted to move to a part of the world where the sun is up and bright all the way to three o'clock in the morning. Maybe that way Luke will not make fun of him like this.

Suddenly, Michel had an epiphany. Luke simply could not lie. He could _evade_ answers, but he just could not lie…

"Kerry, would you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" she asked, catching his mischievous ambiance. She quickly realized they were going to pull something, and she loves mischief.

He signaled he needed pen and paper, and she quickly provided him what he needed.

Quite simply, he put:

_Ask Luke who his human companion was._

Thinking about it, he added:

_He won't really kill you._

Sure, it sounded harmless as a joke, but with Luke, you just never know.

Gentlemen get mortified quiet quickly.

* * *

Well, my sarcastic commentary is ALL over the place. Sorry about that. Next one will be normal. I promise.

Thanks to: Myth Star Black Dragon and rocktheroxie.


	13. A Small Large Apartment

_Ask Luke who his human companion was. He will tell you grudgingly._

_Thinking about it, he added:_

_He won't really kill you._

_Sure, it sounded harmless as a joke, but with Luke, you just never know._

_Gentlemen get mortified quiet quickly.

* * *

_

Kerry looked at the second part of his statement, and her eyes grew wide. She looked at him, giving him an are-you-serious look.

He nodded, smiling a wolfish smile, daring her to take it.

"Where are we going?" she asked nonchalantly. He took that as a yes.

"My…no…I'm renting it to your friends. My apartment? Luke," he said a little louder, "You'll join us, right?"

He heard the quiet laugh, pictured Luke smiling, and smiled himself.

"By the park, near the curb," he said, yet again, a little louder than necessary…about conversation level.

"Race ya?" Luke asked.

"Want to beat Luke to my apartment?" Michel asked Kerry.

She thought about it for a little, still high on the adrenaline of what she was about to do.

"We'll be waiting," she said, when she rolled down the window, to find Luke driving next to them.

Luke looked at her, and smiled his signature smile.

She sat back down like normal people, but shuddered as anyone sane would if they had the full impact of Luke's smile.

"Floor it," Kerry politely suggested. She seemed to have forgotten they were driving her dad's old car.

"What was it that Luke did to the car, specifically?" _So she_ _did_ not_ forget._

"I believe he did something with the cold air intake, fixed the exhaust, a set of header, an underpully gear, and a large throttle body," he said, vacantly. Then, just to make sure, "Of course, don't take what I told you for granted. I don't know much about cars."

Kerry looked at him skeptically. "And yet, you know more than my mechanic. Huh. How ironic." She seemed in her own thoughts, and Michel let her have her personal space.

After they reached his apartment (In the end, Luke won by cutting on front of other racers), Michel told Kerry, "Well, it would be best if you switch mechanics then?"

Luke looked up, offended. "Was there something wrong?" he asked, almost looking like he would just go to checking the car himself.

Kerry saw this, and she immediately wanted to deny such claims, but Michel just smiled at Luke.

"It ran beautifully," he told Luke. Luke visibly relaxed, but looked at Michel, knowing more would come.

"It would help Kerry and her neighborhood, as well as her father, if the car was quieter," and then changing the subject, he invited everyone in.

"Now Mike, when you said 'small,' I expected small, not a small-large."

"It _is_ small! A _small_ large. I was not lying."

"You were holding back information," Luke said, smiling a real smile, one that was not made to intimidate people, or to show his love of violence.

"Kerry," Michel turned to her, to get a "second" opinion. He didn't know which way she would go. She was looking around the small-large apartment, her eyebrows raised as if saying _what else should we expect._

"Hmm?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Would you say I was lying here?"

"Uhmm…hard to say. You just told me you had an apartment…not a suite. Or whatever these things are called."

Luke looked satisfied. "See? I am telling ya the truth."

Michel looked at him, shaking his head. "You always tell the truth Luke. Well then. Juice? Coffee? Water? Tea? Something else?"

"I'll have a decaff," Luke said, checking out Michel's new painting, though smiling his smile, knowing what Michel meant.

"Uhmm…I don't care," Kerry said, before catching the annotation Michel meant. "Actually, do you have bottled water? Or soda?"

Michel devilishly smiled at Kerry. "I'll get you a Coke."

Kerry nodded, and started to look around the apartment once more.

She seemed very engrossed on a particular part, but Michel could not quiet place what it was.

The piano maybe? Or maybe his music collection? If she were as modern-thinking as many of the people he came across, she would not really like his collection.

Sure, it contained some rock, metal, and even rap, but the bulk of the music was classics.

Joplin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Brahms…just to name a few.

"Ethan?" Kerry asked, a laugh hinted in her voice. "Are you Christian?"

_Of all the questions…?_

"Roman Catholic, if you want to get down and dirty," he told her.

"What is your stand point on gays?" _she still sounds on the verge of laughing…why?_

"It is sin," he joked, "But to every man and woman his or her preference, as long as they don't shove it in my and the rest of normal society's face," _could she possibly be referring to…?_

"Didn't T-chai-kov-sky—" she said the name slowly, "Dedicate his first concerto to a man? And wasn't he homosexual?" _I knew it._

"Yes, but either way, he is a good musician," he told her, as he arrived with her cold Coke.

She smiled at him, mocking him, and he admitted to himself that maybe he likes all her smiles, and that he does not want to see just one for all eternity…but that would only leave a few years.

God. Life is hard.

He smiled back at her quickly, and while Luke was still observing a painting, he gives Kerry is look.

That the smile made her heart flutter a little made Luke look back, as if waiting for a sign from Michel to tell him to leave…or something.

Kerry figured out what it was he was implying. The situation would be tricky…how could she find a reason to talk to Luke…and in a way that he won't kill her?

Michel kept looking at Kerry. Yea, he wanted Luke to tell someone (ahem, Kerry), so he can get it out (and ahem, have Kerry tell him) and get his silent but growing pain out of him.

"I think I should go home," she said, not having even taken a drink from her Coke, which was on the table, cold and forgotten. "My friends know I left with you, and I don't think they'll just accept it as such. They'll interrogate me like I have done something wrong."

"But ya have," Luke said, playing along. "Ya were close to becomin' an assistant in murder." He smiled, waiting for her reaction.

It came quickly, but it also calmed down quicker than Luke anticipated. "You really did help Mike, didn't you?" he asked, serious, curious, intently. He looked at her appraisingly, as if trying to see where she could have gotten the courage to help Michel through and through.

"Well, yes," Kerry told him, at ease with him now. He was violent, but obviously in control, just like Michel. Of course, they fed regularly…she shuddered, and they both knew why.

They smiled apologetically, and she waved it off with her hand.

"I have to go. Nelle…oh God…what do I tell Nelle?" she looked at Michel, and implored him to make up an excuse.

"Tell her I asked you to pick up a friend that will also be renting with you guys," he turned to Luke. "You wouldn't mind living with a bunch of kids, right?"

He looked at Michel, smiled, and said seriously, "Only if there are more girls."

Kerry looked shocked, but snorted in the end. "Of course there will be more girls. Let's see… Me, Nelle, Mary, Jessica, and some other chick I don't know. Of course, there's guys too, and they think they're hot shit."

Luke looked at Kerry, this time it was _his_ turn to be shocked. "I thought ladies generally had clean mouths."

"That's what they call themselves. I don't generally say inappropriate things," she said defensively.

Michel stepped, up, amused, but seeing where this brilliant, beautiful woman was going. "It's true. Well, tell Nelle we drove to Buffalo to pick up a friend of mine that needs housing, and I offered the last empty room. It'll be easy to believe," he said, shrugging.

It was close to six o'clock, and the sun would come up in about an hour.

"In the meanwhile, Luke," he said, "Do you wanna share my only room, or have your own privacy?" He knew Luke was coming, and he knew Kerry would have accompanied him. Michel was one of those opportunistic geniuses.

"I think I'd rather appreciate my own room, if ya don't mind Mike," Luke told Michel somewhat seriously. Maybe it was the joke Kerry made from the musician…

"Alright then. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Uhmm…Kerry…would you mind giving me a lift?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Of course, Luke," she told him amiably enough. He smiled appreciatively and walked outside, giving them a private moment for a good bye.

"You know, your apartment really _is_ sma—"

Michel walked up to her, and gave her a hug, kissing giving her a gentle kiss, smiling the whole time. Luke was now out of sight, out of mind.

She looked up at him, smiled, and mouthed the words _I love you_.

"I love you too," he said, aloud.

It was the first time.

* * *

Yay! My ideas did not want to leave me hanging at word 942 or something. Uneventful, but a teaser (if you want to call it that) for the next chapter is that it will be in Luke's point of view.

And...I don't know. Should he have a woman he once loved too? Or should it be that he had a mate, and she betrayed him? Or...he...

I think I just made my mind up. He falls in love with a young teacher in the...what era? Civil War? O.o


	14. LeeOok's Emmalee Part One

Now, I tried to make the memory be as if he were experiencing it over again. Thinking the way he thought, and adding commentary to demostrate how much he changed. I wanted to make it appear that Luke and Michel were once in the "Teen-Age" phase of being a vampire. They were roudy, loud, carefree, blunt, etc. Hopefully you like it. Tell me if you think some parts need changing. As soon as I can, I will upload part two...don't be surprised if it happens on the same day.

* * *

I left outside, to give the lovebirds some time alone. If I would have stayed, I might have just shown some agony from the reminders they both gave me.

I wait outside, quickly making sure Mike was not just being nice in front of the pretty woman, and scooting in to check the car. I made the car silent in less than five seconds.

As I was dusting myself off, I heard Mike say, "I love you too." I feel myself smile warmly, something I usually do for people I truly care about. The doubts this Kerry brought were diminishing quickly.

I hear her heart speed up a little at the comment, and I laugh silently. Girls. They are easy to charm when you do it right. Moreover, it is easier yet if you mean it. It reminded me of Emmalee, the one woman I might have just cared about. Her memories brought me to the past, that now distant past.

I had just arrived in South Carolina. Charleston was finally getting off the ground and Fort Sumter looked invincible. I had been telling people for years I was eighteen, while we were strictly nomadic. Mike stayed with me in Charleston for seven years, until he decided New York seemed to be showing signs of success.

Now, I am usually a good analyzer, but even I did not see New York as anything but a place where everybody went as failures, and died as failures.

Anyhow, I supported Mike's decision. He parted amiably enough, since he would have used the "I'm-Older-Than-Thou card." That kind of thing got me mad to no end. He had barely turned nineteen when he was turned. A few days in the world where he was aging like a nineteen year old. I think he said something along eight days. On the other hand, I was _one_ day away at turning nineteen. Not that it mattered. At the time, I did not even have a name. Occupation and age did not matter if you did not own a name to be recognized. Still…because "Master" Brine decided he wanted blood the day before my birthday, I am stuck forever being one day to being nineteen. I will forever be a child, forever be a boy…never to be a man.

Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but I get like that. Sarcastic was my middle name (Wait…I did not even have a first name…but still…) and people usually stayed out of my way whenever they said something they knew was ludicrous, and I would look at them like they were interesting, and rudely burst out laughing. I think I actually started the _rude, crude fool_ only to be changed by wisecracks to _rude, crude and tattooed_. It is okay though. I definitely changed my ways once I met her, Emmalee, the most beautiful, smart woman to walk the earth. And yes, I've been walking the earth for a while now. You'd think I would know.

I met her right when Mike and I landed in Charleston. We had arrived during the exploration of the New World, but by 1853, we decided to find a place to make our fortune. Hey, we were young, and the money Brine left us wasn't so magnificent. It lasted me about three hundred years. Mike still somehow had money, but seeing me destitute…okay, yea, I am exaggerating yet again, but it is common knowledge people tend to exaggerate moments they remember the most…but seeing me broke convinced him that we needed to settle down for at least five or ten years. We could say we were sixteen, and leave at twenty-six. It worked like a charm in Italy. I am sure it would have worked again. And it did.

We went to a set up table, and asked the young woman helping us if she can help us give us a fake identity. When she rose her head up in alarm, I realized she astounded me. Mike smiled evilly, as if he would tell her immediately, and I was still shy; I would have been embarrassed and never see her again. He remained quiet, tormenting me. (I bowed then and there I would get him back. Two hundred and odd years later, I did exactly that, to my amazement.)

"Come again?" she asked us, but looking at me, like I had astounded her too. Mike pretended he forgot some luggage in the cart that was leaving, and he left us running like an idiot. No exaggeration. I clearly remember him flailing his arms to get the driver's attention, and running in a not-so-straight line.

"Uhhh…" I heard Emmalee say, searching, I am sure, for a nice way to tell me I was accompanied by a freak…or an odd creature, the nice way people talked in those days. "Are you two related?" she finally asked.

"Brother," I said, smiling, though I still did not know how to react to her. Back then, women were very careful, especially with men (but in this case, which is me, a boy) and they did not follow us readily. She seemed like someone who trusted people easily.

"Right, of course. Same skin color and all…" she said, and then looked down quickly, retrieving papers.

"I won't ask why you need fake papers, but I do need to know what name you would like to go by, and if you have a name for your brother, please tell me now, so I can fill this out."

_Huh…what should my name be? It should be something that sounds masculine, strong, or erotic even…_ (Excuse my bad thoughts. I did not consider language like this so vulgar until I actually received an education, and realized my stupidity)

I heard myself doing the dumbest thing, for lack of a better word.

"Uhmm….Uhmm…Uhmm…" I saw Mike, and quickly felt relieved. He was such a good liar, whiles I on the other hand, was not.

I screamed at him, still not used to our super sensory hearing. "_Michel! Quali dovrebbero essere i nostri nomi falsi?" _which meant _Michel! __What should be our fake names?_ in Italian

Mike learned Italian quickly, and when I had first met him, I thought he was a native Italian. Again, while in France, or with the Cherokees, I had trouble keeping my accent out of the way. I had to consciously think about saying what I needed to say in every sentence.

Anyhow, he shot me a murderous look, and said, "_Ci sono persone che capiscono italiana è idiota_," which meant _there are people who understand Italian you idiot_.

I kept my calm, and tried to find a way to communicate with him about this. "Bon, ce qui devrait être notre faux noms?" which meant _okay, what should be our fake names?_ in French. Clever, huh? I thought so.

He slapped his hand to his face, and slowly dragged it down, exasperated.

"Est-ce que vous manquez de comprendre le français?" he asked which meant _do you understand French miss?_

Emmalee looked embarrassed for listening to such an argument. She did however, regard us differently. She probably thought we were some type of cosmopolitans now, instead of a beggar or someone working to clear and gain freedom.

She blushed a little, and with the slightest of the slightest American accents, she said, "Oui, je comprends le français." (I'm pretty sure that is obvious what that means, yes?)

I would have blushed a beet red. I should have blushed a beet red. I have never felt like such an idiot my whole life.

"Well, uhmm, do you have names in mind?" she asked politely, while I just stared at the ground, horrified at what had just happened.

Mike gave me keys to thankfully a nearby home, which had been sold due to Charleston's slight depression a few years back. It had five rooms, which back then was amazing…for a household of, like, twenty. Now, two people living there, we seemed to have instantly become the "richest" in that little town. Except for Mike, I would have happily disagreed with them.

Michel came back fifteen minutes later, taking one look at me, and chuckling.

"What happened?" I asked, as if I asked him to ask Emmalee to the Farm Festival.

"Your name is now Albert. Can you guess why?" he told me, borderline angry and teasing.

"Albert? What kind of a fucking name is that?" (Again, ladies, excuse my bad language). I recalled learning German for a while, and the closest thing to that where Michel would be making fun of me is _albern_, which meant silly.

"Fine, I can understand why you chose that derogatory name for me. Now, what is our last name?"

He smiled, and I knew he chose a fancy word. Afterall, we were brothers to the world, and he was not about to make fun of himself.

"Le'gante, with an apostrophe in between e and g. Can you guess why?" he asked me again. He always chose words I had trouble pronouncing, so that by the end of about a year, I said those words like a native.

"Uhmm…I think this is..Portuguese?" He shook his head. "Spanish."

"Legante? It reminds me of _elegante_…which I do believe means elegant…or smart?"

"You make do the family name proud," Mike said, and started to unpack his things in his new room.

* * *

Woot! Tell me what you think. I don't know if I want this to be in just one or two parts. Luke's life is unraveling for me in such a way, that his description is much more differnet than Michel's. Do you mind three or four parts? Or would you miss Michel too much? Haha. Thanks for reading my story. I love you...about as much as I love to write this...which as you can see...is a lot.


	15. LeeOok's Emmalee Part Two AN

"_Le'gante, with an apostrophe in between e and g. Can you guess why?" he asked me again. He always chose words I had trouble pronouncing, so that by the end of about a year, I said those words like a native._

"_Uhmm…I think this is…Portuguese?" He shook his head. "Spanish."_

"_Legante? It reminds me of elegante…which I do believe means elegant…or smart?"_

"_You make do the family name proud," Mike said, and started to unpack his things in his new room.

* * *

_

_Ah, crap_. I forgot…he always took the master bedroom if I did not get there first.

I ran as fast as I could to the room, but by the time I got there, Mike had already put away his last shirt.

"Beat you," he told me with a smirk, before leaving outside. He needed to feed, and upon thinking about it, so did I.

* * *

After re-reading what I wrote after what is above, I decided: I don't like it.

I should have never written something like that. I put myself to sleep.

I guess I got overly excited about writing about Luke.

Temporary hiatus until I come up with something...or if you come up with something, share. It would be much appreciated.


	16. LeeOok's Emmalee Pt 2 ReWrite

"_Le'gante, with an apostrophe in between e and g. Can you guess why?" he asked me again. He always chose words I had trouble pronouncing, so that by the end of about a year, I said those words like a native._

"_Uhmm…I think this is…Portuguese?" He shook his head. "Spanish."_

"_Legante? It reminds me of elegante…which I do believe means elegant…or smart?"_

"_You make do the family name proud," Mike said, and started to unpack his things in his new room._

_Ah, crap_. I forgot…he always took the master bedroom if I did not get there first.

I ran as fast as I could to the room, but by the time I got there, Mike had already put away his last shirt.

"Beat you," he told me with a smirk, before leaving outside. He needed to feed, and upon thinking about it, so did I.

I decided that my hunger was not as bad as his was. I did feed before we departed the ship, and my thirst was that of something else. Even then, it was not thirst, more like a seduction towards this Emmalee I had just met some few hours ago.

I sat on the newly acquired couch, one hand on the back of the couch, the other on the side. I looked to the left, wondering if she got home all right.

I heard her leave only a few minutes ago, and though I knew this town was relatively safe, my neediness to inquire grew as I realized she should be my companion of the night.

I mean, it _only_ made sense. She knew French, I could teach her Italian—or on second thought, Mike should teach her. I was a slow learner myself…but on third thought, I was a _native_ Italian. I could teach her slang…and stuff.

I got up from the couch, pushing it back with the suddenness, and made to follow her. I would do it quietly. No need to have her know she was about to have a stalker.

I blended with the darkness, something I've been able to do even since I was human. I finally saw her walking quickly, with purpose: get to her home safely. I could "bump into her,"

"Do you know she's engaged?" I heard Mike tell me. He didn't make me jump. I smelled fresh blood before I could even hear him approach me.

"Is she now?" I asked nonchalantly, though it somewhat bothered me.

"I do believe son, unless that ring is a lie."

I look closely, and almost made an audible retort. "_Idiota_, that's her right hand. It's traditionally on the left hand."

"Like you said: traditionally," Mike said, not letting my insult bother him. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared, and I stood where I was, watching her get safely behind her gate. Could she really be married?

"I'll find out tomorrow," I said confidently, though noticing I had stood there like an idiot for half the night.

I went to the same whore house Michel went, and tried to ignore the girl who no doubt knew what I was, seeing as how I had the same skin color as Mike.

I finally pushed her off me by saying that once bitten by someone, other people "couldn't touch her." She looked pleased by this, and wondered _why_ Mike chose her.

I finally decided the shy brown-haired woman would do just fine.

She was extremely nervous, so I decided to just take the blood and leave. In her euphoric state, she must have thought something went on between us, but I ignored that and left the room.

Some girls were outside the door. I'm guessing to hear if anything happened. From their big eyes, I'm guessing they did. I smiled, thinking that this would be the last time I would ever go to a whorehouse, even if I were going to die of thirst.

The day was slowly coming, and I could have strolled all the way to the house purposelessly and still make it home in time. After about thirty minutes, I saw her, Emmalee, right in the same instant that she saw me.

She smiled warmly, almost as if she was excited to see me, but quickly regained composure. Surely married women had to do that all the time…

"Good mornin' miss," I said, trying my southern accent, fighting hard to think about each syllable pronunciation.

"Mornin' mister Le'gante," she said coyly. That brought me to grin, and I instinctively rose my eyebrows up as I do whenever someone said something I like. That made her smile even more, her inhibitions leaving her.

One thought kept popping up in my head: _She's not married_, in that ah-shucks tone.

She continued speaking, trying to keep a conversation going. "Are you going to school?"

I looked at her blankly, wondering why she would say such a horrible and blasphemous thing. School? Me? _No_, thank you. I continued to look at her blankly, once again looking like an idiot, when I just looked to my left, trying to think of a way out of the situation but still maintain my dignity.

"Well, mornings and I just don't mix," I told her, as if I always considered school, but that was the only thing keeping me. I was glad for that though.

"Well, I teach night school, you could attend then," she said, as if she had the solution to my "unfortunate" problem.

I laugh a little nervously. I was seriously considering that if she was going to be smart, I might not like her. Would I want someone to be smarter than me?

Seeing as how I already wanted her, I could suck it up, drag Mike to this educational institutional facility thing, and try it. If I didn't like it, I could drone out what she was saying, but look at her. That would work.

"Ah, really?" I ask, excitedly, or at least pretending to be.

She smiled, catching the intonation. "Yes, really. That way we—the town—can get to know our new arrivals."

The sun was coming up, and my internal clock was telling me it was time to go nighty night night. Suddenly, I caught a fallacy to my lie: I said I'm not a morning person, yet surely here I was, six in the morning, up and about.

"Well," I said, "Sorry, but my brother got late sea sickness, and I promised to get out of the house so he can do his thing—" (ha, get that) "—but I should be going home. I hardly slept."

"Oh, right, right. So, I'll see you at the school house at seven, right?" Oh, this girl liked me as much as I liked her.

"Definitely," I said, taking one deep look into her eyes, before bowing and walking to the house.

Once more, I barely made it. Mike was already tucking in, getting ready to sleep like the dead we were, and told me tiredly, "I fixed it already. Just sleep. We got school tomorrow. I signed us up."

"We'll argue this tomorrow," I said, though it would just be my required hate towards education.

"I'll win," he said.

_Damn. He always wins_.

* * *

It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Yea, I made Luke a little cocky. But why not? He would have been too shy to do anything about it had she not so obviously shown interest.

Courtly love, eh? (If you don't know what that means...DON'T look it up! It'll ruin the next chapter haha).

Well, I've been writing other stories since I had a huge writer's block for this baby, and it appears I have become more descriptive :O

Well, I hope that is true, so you guys can come close to what I see...I don't know where the sudden descriptiveness came from haha.

One more part, and it'll be just a little flashback to a special moment Luke and Emmalee shared. Then, it'll be Michel's turn to rule the story once more.

Er...wait, no. One more in Luke's perspective in the present, while getting a lift from Kerry, and yea, then it will be back to the God of all vampires, Michel.

Cuzz, I mean, come on...Michel is just naturally better than any other well-known vampire. Yea, he's even better than Edward. I said it. So sue me.

(No, don't really sue me)


	17. LeeOok's Emmalee Pt 3

**Yup, I'm back. Sorry for the long wait. Be kind to me, and review. I want to see if this story is worth continuing, or if it should just be left behind. Review please!

* * *

**"_We'll argue this tomorrow," I said, though it would just be my required hate towards education._

"_I'll win," he said._

Damn. He always does.

And with that thought, I fell into the sleep of the dead.

As I woke up at precisely 6:30 that day, being the fine summer that it was. Michel and I went to the living room, and discussed what we would do while we stayed.

"Standard time?" I asked him.

"Yes. One month while we look for a place that is growing quickly so we can get lost in crowds and not known by many—or any, if we can," Mike said. "Now, for the meanwhile, _education_—"

"Hell no."

"Oh come on. You like the teacher," he teased me.

"Strictly carnal," I said, which in the beginning was true.

"Eh," he said dismissively. "You can't read or write, and you refuse to learn from me, so a pretty woman might get you wanting to learn." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I smiled back at him, imagining what it is _I_ might teach _her_ if she were curious to learn…

"So it's settled then," he said, getting up.

I grimace looking up at him, as if the sun were directly behind him.

"It starts in twenty minutes," he reminded me.

"We can get there in one minute of we run," I told him as I shrugged.

"Number one rule, after _you can never have enough covers in a window_, is _never use supernatural abilities right after you settle in_. People might get suspicious," he said, for about the umpteenth time…well…the "number one rule, after the covers and windows thinger" which always changed.

I rolled my eyes. Mike sure can be overly suspicious and paranoid. Though, if I were being honest, it has saved our asses a couple times…a couple…eh.

"We walk now," he said somberly.

"It's not like we can go to a horse carriage and ask the boy if his horse is shy or mean," I muttered.

"Yea, yea. Keep walking," he said as he shoved me in front of half the town.

.x.x.x.

"Welcome to our humble class, gentlemen," Emmalee said when she saw us. I heard her heartbeat rise, and I wanted to smile. I looked down, and smirked instead, even if onlookers saw me and thought I was cocky.

"Well, Albert and Abel Le'gante are our newest rendition to our class gentlemen," Emmalee said cheerily. The other students were looking at her, basking in her presence, not caring what she said, but rather how she looked; and I was one of those students—though I didn't make it so obvious.

"Come on up, and introduce yourselves," she said, waving a hand to stand near her, and act like five year olds.

Mike came up first, and I looked at him, almost daring him to do something flashy. Of course, he would, I knew that even before teasing him to do so.

"Well," he said, grabbing Emmalee's waving hand, and giving it a knightly kiss before he turned to the class, and subtly smirking from both the other males' angry faces, and challenging me to beat such caliber, "my name is Abel—" my first thought was to tease him of being a Jew, even though he was a devout Catholic before turning into a vampire, "—Le'gante, and we are from Italy," with a faint Italian accent.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Abel Le'gante," she said smiling, though the kiss was unexpected for her, and she was blushing. "And this is Mr. Le'gante's brother," she said, smiling at me.

I smile, and grab her by the shoulders. "My brother was being fairly rude. In Europe, we greet people like this—" I tell her, and I give her a kiss on one check, and another in the other, though very close to her mouth, "—but apart from that, my name is Albert Le'gante, and I was born in France and grew up in Italy." I smile at the class, not bothering to conceal the fact that I did indeed make a move on our teacher. The other males looked about ready to whip a can of whoop ass.

I turn back to Emmalee, waiting for her to tell me where to sit, and I find her blushing. _Oh dear_, _I overdid it_. One thing I learned that day was: girls get easily excited with us vampires, but they get even more so when our actions are real.

"I guess I'm sitting next to my brother?" I ask, smiling gently, deciding never to do something so show-off-ish again. "Yes," she smiled, though she could hardly look me in the eye.

.x.x.x.

Mike and I stayed in South Carolina for seven years together. While Michel was known to be the official Ladies Man of Charlestown, I was a little more subtle with who I was seen with.

Emmalee was our teacher for three years, and by then, our secret flirting was on the brink of discovery, but we always managed to hide it, and either way "Abel" always managed to get the spotlight at the perfect timing.

When Mike left, it was just before the beginning of the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln won presidency. I didn't care about politics, and is something I adamantly stay away from.

I really thought I'd be able to stick around for two or three more years, but 1864 was the fateful year that determined I would not be able to stay.

Vampire hunters also came to America, much to my dismay, and Emmalee's affiliation with me got her killed.

I didn't get revenge. I told myself that we were never lovers; I told myself that if I did, Michel would be disappointed. Vampire hunters being killed after killing an alleged vampire would do nothing for Emmalee's reputation.

I stayed in South Carolina, never bothering to get close to anyone again, and if I did, purely for survival. I took what I wanted when I wanted, moving every year or so in different areas, until finally, recently, I ran out of remote cities and towns. I finally decided to take up Mike's invitation to move to New York, where the Buffalo and Rochester area were big enough to get lost for ten years, and barely make a dent in the suspicions of humans.

And so, I am standing now, in Brockport, New York, waiting for the girl that saved Mike's existence that one fateful day two years ago to come out, and give me a ride to Mike's Victorian house he has owned since it was built.

_Way to show off Mike_.

I sigh, watching the brittle air come out of my mouth, amused.

"Goodnight Kerry," I hear Mike say before I hear them kissing again. I smile again. Who knew this girl would tame the Ladies' Man?

She came out smiling, and I raised my eyebrow and smiled. She got scared a little, but she gathered the courage to come up and open the door for me. "Thank you, Kerry," I said somberly, without accent. The sun was coming up in twenty minutes, and I couldn't help but respond that way.

She did look at me curiously, but she figured it out. "Wanna drive? You'll help us get there faster," she offered.

"Alright," I said. "I'll show you what your car can do now," I said, not helping myself but getting excited.

"She's in good hands, Mike," I whisper. I hear the rustle of covers, and I smile. "The number one rule, eh, Mike?"

* * *

Michel grins. Despite knowing that today Luke would know Michel recruited Kerry to pry about Emmalee, he knew Luke was going to start to open up to Kerry.

That girl was just too damn trustable.

* * *

**Writer's Block gone!...for now. Really, it's been too damn long. Be nice to me and tell me what ya think! Once again, I want to know if this story still has _some_ potential, or if it should just be dropped**.

Really. It's good to be back.


	18. Slight Impediment

_"She's in good hands, Mike," he hears Luke whisper. Michel lets the covers drop, and he could hear Luke's smile as he said, "The number one rule, eh, Mike?"_

Michel grins. Despite knowing that today Luke would know Michel recruited Kerry to pry about Emmalee, he knew Luke was going to start to open up to Kerry.

That girl was just too damn trustable.

And once he heard the engine speed away, with Luke as the driver of course, Michel felt safe in knowing that Kerry would be okay. He needed to tell Kerry something important, though by nature, he never trusted anyone, except Luke, and even then, it was not completely. He needed to tell her a deep, dark secret, something that must be revealed before he is to make her his. He had not derailed himself from his goal. He wanted that woman as his; only his.

But he would have to worry about that later. He needed his sleep. Michel thought back to the time when Luke would get mad when he made Luke get ready to sleep early.

"_Trying to get some beauty sleep Mike?" Luke would ask._

_Michel didn't mind the sarcasm. He actually enjoyed it. "Yes," he would say. "I'm meeting several ladies tonight, and I need to be in top shape."_

"_Just smile, and they'll think you're in top shape from the get-go."_

"_I don't do anything halfway."_

_Luke opened his mouth as though to say something, but he seemed to think better of it, and closed his mouth._

Michel, despite being alone, laughed quietly. He always had a memorable time with his best friend/brother. They would joke, sass, and diss each other, but all for the sake of a good laugh, or a low blow on each other's pride.

With Kerry, he had a memorable time of emotion, desire, excitement, and courage.

His last thought was that what he would have to reveal to her soon might end such future times.

He woke up just as the sun was close to finally settle, he could still feel the sun, and he could still feel the innate fear of knowing that if one of his covers fell, he would die painfully, not even the decency of dying quickly would be available.

He stayed under the covers of his bed, as though he were a child afraid of the boogieman coming out. After four or five minutes, he gets up, freshens up, and drives to his Victorian house. He had three reasons to go there now: his home, Luke, and most importantly, Kerry.

He began to think about what Kerry and Luke talked about. Did they talk about Miss Emmalee? Or maybe about each other, trying to fill in silence with getting to know each other? Or maybe Luke was trying to intimidate her throughout the whole rise? _Or_, maybe, Kerry was scared half witless at the way Luke sped.

_And she thought _I_ drove horribly._

He didn't go to his Victorian house afterall. He knew everyone there knew he wasn't planning on making regular visits, and he wasn't planning on showing everyone how much Kerry interested him; especially not that John fellow.

He went, instead, to the park again, this time near his house, so that once Kerry stepped out of it, she would spot him. She would be hyperaware of her surroundings anyways.

Although he kept his eyes on the kids on the playground, and was aware he was getting a few stares, he waited for Kerry, and maybe Luke, to join him.

"Where is she?" he asked, when he heard Luke appear.

"Nelle," Luke said, slightly annoyed, or maybe slightly frustrated, "Insisted that they get ready for their double date, and that I should go too," he said in an airy but sarcastic voice, his southern accent in full swing.

Michel laughed the first honest laugh in a while. They received a few more stares, but it's been hundreds of years both of these two "gentlemen" have gotten to get used to the ogling.

"And what are you? A fifth wheel?" Michel asked Luke, talking to him like he did in the old days (and yes, they were old days).

"'Fortunately,' Jenna, a 'roomie' of mine, is available today. This is your fault Mike. Now I can show the world I'm still eighteen," he said, full of sarcasm, but with a little hint of truth in it.

"Why do you always bring up the age thing? It's not _my_ fault Mast—Brine decided to get thirsty the very day before you were to 'turn nineteen, to become a man, by that day's standards,'" Michel said, half teasing, half placatingly.

"Yea, well, why couldn't you have given me three of four days of your lifespan?" Luke muttered. If he was away from an opportunity of violence or mockery, he acted childish.

"I give you three days of my lifespan," Michel said, knowing that it woudn't be enough. He probably already "gave" Luke five times his lifespan by now, but he wasn't about to say that.

Michel heard steps coming towards them, but he wasn't about to look behind him to see who it was—those steps weren't Kerry's.

"Oh, Nelle's boyfriend didn't even know about the double date until she told me about this Jenna girl, and how she wants me to be comfortable, and not feel like a literal fifth wheel," Luke muttered under his breath.

Michel sighed. Now he can understand why Kerry went for the perm that one time after her mother left. Her friend Nelle was very commandeering. No _wonder_ why Kerry had no real problem (that would impede on her) listening to him. Of course, he was actually dangerous—_still am_—since he is the vampire who ruled Brockport, even if he wasn't there per se.

"Mind if I join you guys?" they heard Nelle's boyfriend say.

"Go right on ahead," Luke said, showing that Southern hospitality.

"Certainly," Michel said, saying it more in a classy way than anything. _He_ would always be _French_, never a New Yorker.

_Of course, I had an identity when I was human; Luke didn't_, Michel thought.

"Thanks," Nelle's boyfriend said. "I didn't get the chance to meet you yesterday, when Nelle invited others to our date," he said, not necessarily bitingly, but showing obvious frustration at his girlfriend's whim. "My name's Alex."

"Anthony," Michel said. _Yea, Anthony, with my middle name as Ethan_, he thought somewhat bitterly. Despite wanting that girl as his companion of the night, he was still a rather selfish man, thinking about survival, with no suspicion whatsoever.

"Nice to meet you Anthony," Alex said amiably. "I apologize for Nelle; she always goes on whims, not bothering to ask the person. She always assumes they have the time of day," he said, annoyed, but with some tenderness behind those words.

Luke smiled, about to capitalize on such a "weakness." And if Luke did that, he would start to capitalize on Michel's interest in Kerry, and he didn't want _anyone_ knowing the extent of his interest in her. He felt he would ultimately share it. And, he admitted, he is a very selfish creature.

He wanted Kerry. Yes, he did.

All to _himself_, with no one, _no one_ in the playing field, not even in the stands.

Michel feigned a chuckle of understanding. He would try to get along with Kerry's roommates, except for one. He would deal with this John fellow later. "It's alright. I wanted to catch up with Kerry anyways," he said, the only thing to be true that would come out of his mouth—for now, "and I never got to meet any of her friends. I would like to get to know them."

"You'll," Alex said, slowly, trying to think of a way to explain it, "Find Nelle…amusing, to say the least, and annoying, to say most extremely."

"Wouldn't she be hurt that you are saying such things?" Luke asked, smiling (sinisterly), though his smile did not show any intention of saying anything, just teasing.

Alex smiled in return, not really phased by Luke's smile. _Brave kid_, Michel thought. "No, she knows I love her all the more for it."

"That's great," Luke said, his eyes somewhat squinted with seriousness. Right away, Michel could tell Luke was getting warmed up to the boy, but something was holding him back.

_Could it be _that_?_

"Thanks," he said quietly. Fifteen minutes later, all three girls came out, looking amazing.

Alex's hand snaked around Nelle's waist. Michel was a little more subtle with an amused smile, and Luke smiled nicely, his smiling missing his sinister component, so for Kerry, the smile appeared a little false, though Michel knew better.

Luke would always be his Southern gentleman self.

"We're walking to the theatres guys! That way we can all know each other," Nelle said excitedly.

"Alright," Jenna said shyly. She liked Luke, Michel could tell.

They walked to the movies slowly, just cruising the town, and arrived twenty minutes later.

"Did you waste all your money again Luke?" Michel teased, looking at him as Luke shoved his hands into the depths of his jeans' pockets.

"No, I did not," Luke huffed, triumphantly pulling out a fifty. He paid for himself and Jenna, buying her snacks and a drink.

"Are you going to get anything?" Kerry asked Michel, curious to see how he would portray himself as a human.

He grinned, and said nothing.

"A Coke and popcorn for her," he said, and looked up at the menu, trying to see if there was anything he wanted, "and a juice for me," he said.

"Juice, always juice," Kerry whispered. "Why is that, I wonder?"

He got real close to her, ignoring her quickening heartbeat. "It's organic," he said, managing to say something dumb into something so marvelous.

He paid and carried the food to see a slasher movie with Kerry. He manipulated the order of the seating so that the order would be: Alex, Nelle, Jenna, Luke, himself, and lastly, Kerry. Something didn't feel right.

Ten minutes into the movie, Michel—as well as Luke and Alex—could guess the ending, so they turned to their dates.

Luke didn't establish himself as a ladies' man back in Charlestown, but he definitely knew how to woo. Extremely well. His caliber could almost be with that of Michel's.

Jenna didn't know what was going to happen to her tonight, _if_ Luke decided to go back to the house than to visit Anna, and see if they could get rid of the last vampire hunters—which brought Michel back to the situation at hand.

"Kerry," he whispered, after a deep kiss.

"Hmm?" she asked, her eyes on his lips, silently telling him to tell her what he wanted to later.

"What does Alex do for a living?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't know. Work at the student union most likely. Why?"

"I think he's a vampire hunter," he let the sentence hang in the air, letting her realize what his next sentence would be forced to be.

"No, he can't," Kerry said, denial in her voice, though her facial features told him differently. "You're not going to hurt him are you?"

Michel didn't say anything. He couldn't. He was too selfish to risk losing her, especially not because of a _vampire hunter_. He sighed; he _had_ to tell her, though maybe not as bluntly. "I guess you have some thinking to do. If you change your mind with helping me get rid of the rest of Brockport's vampire hunters, I understand."

Kerry looked shocked. She didn't know what to do. How could the events turn out this way? Despite her shock, she managed to nod, but something brought her back. "Are you leaving?" she asked, her voice worried.

He looked at her, but didn't say anything. He wrapped an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. For now, he would stay with her.

This might be his last moment with her…_ever_.

* * *

I REALLY like the feedback for this story! Just ONE away from 40, but it's okay! The love you guys sent me was MORE than enough.

MythStar Black Dragon: THANK YOU for being there for me since day one. It means a lot to me.

Isabella Marie Cullen: I'm glad you like my story! I hope it doesn't disappoint you later on! I took what you said into consideration, and even blended with what Angelkrow666 said, though in a VERY twisted way. He shall have his secret, I promise you!

Angelkrow666: I definitely took your advise, and added some hardship into their relationship. Who will she chose? Friends? Or Vampires? Although we all know I'm too Libra for my own good, I'll try to make it as real as possible :)

Restless Dreaming Spirit: Again, I am SO very happy you are back to reading my story. As you can see, I chickened out in the quote, but! I shall post it on here for the next time. I REALLY hope you still like Michel's character. I was a bit worried I might deviate from how you liked him. Ahh, yes, his fingers brushing her neck makes me think sexy haha.

courtingu: I am VERY glad you like my story, and yes, Michel is a Ladies' Man. Though now, one of them caught his attention. I'm glad you also catch my humor...not many people do :(

Tell me what you think my lovely readers! It made me HAPPY BEYOND BELIEF seeing your reaction to the last chapter. I worked so hard trying to get back into the mindset of back then, and even now, it changed a little, but hopefully, you guys still enjoy my story! Review!


	19. Goodbye?

Sorry for keeping the ambiance so dark!

But! I have a hella funny thing to share:

[Rant]: "OMG! When I found out they were having a kid, I was all 'WHAT?! How did he get it up without blood in his veins or a beating heart?!?! And what about his sperm? Isn't it supposed to be dead like the rest of his cells?!?!'" -AiDeeKay

[Response]: "And OMG you did NOT just say that. LMFAO. wow." -(if she wants to reveal her name, she will tell me, and I will tell you who it was in the next chapter!)

* * *

_Michel didn't say anything. He couldn't. He was too selfish to risk losing her, especially not because of a vampire hunter. He sighed; he had to tell her, though maybe not as bluntly. "I guess you have some thinking to do. If you change your mind with helping me get rid of the rest of Brockport's vampire hunters, I understand."_

_Kerry looked shocked. She didn't know what to do. How could the events turn out this way? Despite her shock, she managed to nod, but something brought her back. "Are you leaving?" she asked, her voice worried._

_He looked at her, but didn't say anything. He wrapped an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. For now, he would stay with her._

_This might be his last moment with her…ever._

They continued to watch the movie, though they were both far from actually concentrating on what was going on. Something about a guy getting his entrails removed but a butcher's knife—something or other. The movie only lasted thirty more minutes, and for once in a long time, time went by too fast.

Usually, time seemed to slow, as he was aware of the milliseconds that went by, but usually, a second seemed to pass in one millisecond; time was not a firm dimension for Michel. It had a mind of its own, something he did not appreciate at the moment.

Kerry grabbed Michel's hand, and he let her. They were serious the rest of the night, and he wouldn't deviate from that. He knew she was going to have a hard time deciding; Kerry was one that was comfortable with her humanity, with the bonds she has with the people, her family, and the city.

_But, she doesn't want me to go_, he thought to himself, as Kerry grabbed his hand tighter when he subconsciously pulled his hand away to check the time. He wanted to make sure he didn't miss his meeting with Anna and Seth, even if Seth was still somewhat oblivious to the whole scenario, but he didn't want to leave Kerry. He didn't want to be too cocky, like he was last time, and risk losing her again, and this time to a _vampire hunter_.

It was nearing one in the morning and the triple date didn't seem close to closure. Luke seemed to be getting into the date; he would probably be feeding tonight, and maybe not even stop at that.

Before Michel could appreciate he still had _some_ humor in him, Luke pretended to freak out. "Oh man," he said, as though he were a college student remembering his term paper was due the next day—and he hadn't even started yet.

"Oh man, oh man, oh _man_," he said, and turned to Michel. "Anthony," he said, remembering the alias Michel has strictly told him about when he returned to Brockport, "A and Seth are waiting for us."

_Gee, you couldn't come up with something else? Like two different names? Or a different reason_.

"_Sì, lo so, regola numero uno, ma abbiamo bisogno di andare ora_," he said, trying to leave quickly, and his sudden "realization" was as close as he could get to lying.

_He always sucked at lying anyways_, Michel thought to himself, endearment and frustration towards his younger sibling figure. "_Merde_," he said under his breath where only Kerry, Luke, and unfortunately, Alex could hear.

Kerry didn't seem to want to let go anytime soon, in fact, she held his hand tighter. "Do you want to go with us?" he asked her, not really meaning it. He was offering himself, just like at Marsala's house, and he seemed to find a pattern in this: every time he wanted to admit his true feelings, something got in the way; something or some_one_.

She didn't need to think about it. She nodded, got up, and said to Nelle, "I'll see you later guys. Don't wait for me." Luke seemed a bit reluctant to leave Jenna; he wanted to feed…and other things.

While Michel and Kerry distanced themselves out of earshot, Michel, never looking at her, asked, "What brings this?"

Kerry stood quiet for a moment, and then said, "I want to see if Alex had anything to do with Anna and Seth the other day."

He looked at her then, black amusement in his eyes. She wanted to clear her friend's name before she decided. Oh, he definitely saw a pattern now. He refrained from smiling; it was over a "vampire thing," and she wouldn't get it.

"What?" she asked, just as he heard Luke telling Jenna, "I'm _really_ sorry, but I have to go," and then whispering in her ear, "Maybe we can finish this another time?" It quickly followed a quickening heartbeat, with an assured "yes."

"I can't really let you go if you want to clear a vampire hunter's name," he said seriously.

"And why not?" she asked, her old attitude catching up with her now that the initial shock of his comeback was gone.

He looked at her, wanting to tell her, but at the same time, not wanting to. Instincts since he was reborn kicked in.

She shook his hand, "Tell me why not," she repeated, searching futilely in his eyes.

They stood like that until Luke came up to them, in which Kerry sighed and broke eye contact.

"Stay with them if you want," he told her.

"I want to be with you," she said flat out.

Despite the warmth it made him feel, he smiled as if amused. "Alright then, let's go," as they headed back to the Victorian house so that they could get his car and drive to Bergen Swamp once again.

He couldn't tell her tonight. How could he? She would most certainly hate him if he did.

He couldn't trust anyone with what he was told a while ago, one of the pretexts he used to come back to Brockport and see Kerry, not even to Luke. He was a bit too sincere for this kind of tenuous situation.

He remembered Anna admitted to him that one of the vampire hunters was a woman, and that she seemed to be a _college student_, and that she lived in the same neighborhood as Luke and Kerry.

Did she know about him, or Luke, or Kerry's association with vampires? Would she make a move? He didn't want Luke in there, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he died because of him.

The car ride to Bergen Swamp was quiet and intensely suffocating. He was aware that Kerry began to ask questions a few minutes before they got there. "What are you thinking?" "How do you know Alex is indeed a vampire hunter?" "Are you going to ignore my questions?"

He let a few minutes go by before he answered. He didn't want to deal with anything at the moment, but he had to ensure the safety of vampires in the area; if there wasn't a problem, he would have taken Kerry as his a long time ago, quick to capitalize in any weak spots she would have and make her into a vampire.

"I don't like the fact that I basically implanted my friend into vampire hunters' nest. He seemed to evaluate Luke and me when we were talking, and Luke had a natural aversion to him; he usually has good instincts. And I don't ignore your questions. They just sometimes go unanswered," he said, not bothering with transition. This situation was getting old fast. He hated having to get rid of vampire hunters. It got in the way of his goals, and take him _that much longer_ to complete it.

"Did you say 'vampire hunters' nest,' as in 'more than one vampire hunter?'" she asked, her breath hitching. He could relate to what she was going through: _there are more?_

"I think so," he said. He knew she was waiting for more, but he didn't give her any more details.

She took a deep breath, and asked him what he didn't want her to ask: "Who is it?"

He looked at her for a long minute, not answering, and showing no intention to. Her eyes subconsciously pleaded, but he didn't budge. After another long minute, he returned his attention to the road.

Luke was very quiet for himself. Michel could bet his entire fortune that Luke was going to do _something_ against the vampire hunters. Nothing held him back anymore; he could plan the night away and have nothing to lose.

Michel didn't need to remind himself that he had everything to lose.

They arrived at Bergen Swamp quickly after a few more minutes of aggravating silence.

* * *

I updated! Shoutout time!

Angelkrow666: I'm glad you like my Michel's smart-mouthyness. And don't worry, I won't make he whole thing predictable :)

courtingu: I'm glad you like my story! I hope this chapter's lenght is a little more to you liking :)

MythStar Black Dragon/Maria: Sorry! At least I didn't use "ever" this time?...Don't worry. I'll make a lighter ambiance on the next chapter...I hope :)

Isabella Marie Cullen: Thank you! I feel honored! A goofy smile is on my face just thinking about what you told me :) (I hope the quotes on top don't offend you)

Thank you everyone! I love you tons! Review! (and sorry for quote's explicitness...I just HAD to share. Was having a "Michel PWNS" moment with a fellow FFer...and...yea haha.)

Oh! Go check out my poll! Two stories are tied! Help me break the tie! Review? It would make my DAY :)


	20. Stay Just A Little Longer

_He looked at her for a long minute, not answering, and showing no intention to. Her eyes subconsciously pleaded, but he didn't budge. After another long minute, he returned his attention to the road._

_Luke was very quiet for himself. Michel could bet his entire fortune that Luke was going to do something against the vampire hunters. Nothing held him back anymore; he could plan the night away and have nothing to lose._

_Michel didn't need to remind himself that he had everything to lose._

_They arrived at Bergen Swamp quickly after a few more minutes of aggravating silence._

Michel turned off the car, and withdrew within himself. He did that when he worried, which was constantly. Luke always made fun of him for that. He was too "uptight," and if it were not for being a good looking guy, he would worry too much and drive all the women away.

Michel always just grinned whenever Luke complained and would make a smart mouthed remark.

Tonight, however, Luke did not make fun of him. Michel did not make a smart mouthed remark, and a kind of animosity filled the air. Michel got out of the car, did not look back to see if Kerry would follow—why should he hope?—and started walking across the land. He could hear Kerry sigh in frustration that he was going back to his old games, and she hurried in getting out of the car. Luke took his time; he knew exactly where they were going to meet anyways.

Kerry caught up. She stayed quiet for a minute or so, but after a while, she drew a breath in exasperation. "So, who is this other vampire hunter?" He glanced briefly at her, and he could see she was looking down, not making any eye contact.

Yes, everything was going back, not forward. He should just give up now. He didn't want her to admit defeat he could do himself.

"You don't need to know," he replied coldly, trying to end her questions by tone alone.

Kerry might have an observational deftness and quick mind, but she certainly also possessed a pig headed personality.

"And why not? I am hanging around vampires; I need to know what is going on so I can be prepared in case anything happens," she said in a voice that reminded him of her sixteen-year-old version.

Yea, she was beautiful back then too, but now, at eighteen, she seemed more a woman than a young adult. He knew even back then that he liked the personality and challenge she brought him, if not her awkward body.

But now, her being older, he felt she had the package deal: beauty, intelligence, even grace, things he has been thinking about since he came back.

"How old are you now Kerry?" he asked her, planning on teasing her, and maybe make her mad; she usually attempted the silent treatment when she got mad.

"I'm going to turn nineteen in about a month. Why?" she asked suspiciously. Michel knew she would blurt out the answer, and while she did stay suspicious, she would still say it.

"Because you still act like you're sixteen," he looked at her, as if to add emphasis.

She got a little angry, but only narrowed her eyes at him.

"And you act like you're an old man," she shot back. "And anyways, learn to live for the moment," she told him, while she looked around, looking like she might start hopping.

"Why should I?" he asked her, ready to see her reaction, "I'm not going to die anytime soon," he told her.

"You don't know that," she told him, seeming to get hyper, or anxious, and telling him everything. "You don't know that," she repeated, "And anyways, don't you think it would be nice to live with all your special people for a few years that alone for an eternity?" she said the last part slowly, as if making herself say it before she wimped out.

The sudden change of conversation made Michel stop, and really look at her. _Could she be telling me that she wants to be with me?_ he asked himself. If so, he knew this would be the perfect opportunity. Luke told him they'd be together, and Luke's hunches are always right.

"Keep goin' Mikey boy," Luke said from behind. _Speak of the devil…_ He just got out of the car, probably trying to sort out his options and then discuss them with Michel for the rest of the way.

"Taking a break," Michel said, still looking at Kerry. She seemed to look a little lost, trying to figure out why Michel was looking at her as intently as he was. She shook her head, her facial expression one of a questioning glance.

"Alright," Luke said in his relaxed voice. Michel could only think of one thing when Luke acted this way: _the calm before the storm_. Truly, Luke always seemed so infuriatingly calm before he did anything violent, or planned anything violent. Then he would get excited, and smiles like a maniac. His signature sinister smile didn't help matters either…if you were human.

Kerry stood where she was, looking at Michel, and then said, "Eth—Michel, tell me what's going on," she said, her voice starting to not only sound impatient, but it held a mother's tone. One that said "tell me what you did, or I'm going to whoop your ass" kind of tone.

He didn't like it.

"You came here with me without needing any details, you don't need to know more than what you know." He knew he was being cold. He knew. But he also knew that deep inside, Kerry liked the challenges he brought her. And to allure your prey, you did what they liked…

"Because I didn't want to lose—" she stopped short of saying _because I didn't want to lose you_, most likely because Luke was sitting right there, taking a sort of amusement in their conversation, both vocal and bodily conversations.

"You know, Mike," Luke piped in; Michel could just _see_ the next thing that would come out of his mouth, "You have not told me anything about this other vampire hunter who is where _you_ sent _me_ to live. And I only figured out this Alex boy is a vampire hunter because of his attitude," and with resentment and a little vehemence, "With no thanks to you."

"Luke, you're not one of the best liars in the world, you do know that right?" Michel told him, trying to lighten the mood, but mostly trying to ward of a joint attack.

And it seems Kerry was thinking the same thing.

She raised her eyebrows, and her head went upwards, as if to say _ah, what is this?_

"So, not only do you not tell me, someone who is apparently at least _somewhat_ important to you, you don't tell your _little brother_?" Michel kept his face in one mask, hiding his surprise. With her back to Luke, Michel could see the wicked grin Luke had on his face.

_So _that's_ what happened in their car ride back home, is it?_

"I'm protecting him," Michel said, and he could note his defensive voice going up. He felt like he was being chastised. How did it go from making her mad to defending himself? And from a _lie_ of all things?

"Ethan," Kerry said, her tone revealing that she chose to call him that, "If you want to keep everything under control, you can't keep things from me, or Luke. What if because of that something happens to him, or me, or _you_?" Kerry said, the last word breaking her composure somewhat, and a pained expression in her face.

Now it was harder for Michel to keep his expressionless face. He didn't want her to feel as if something bad would happen. He wanted her to feel as if everything would be okay, and that she would think that an eternity with someone you care about is better than a few measly decades.

He closed his eyes for a couple seconds, and gulped imaginary saliva, about to do something he didn't want to do. "You will not repeat this to anyone," he said, pointing at them, but mostly at Luke. Kerry looked shocked that her pleading worked, but soon gained a tentative expression. He added, "You will not act any differently around people who are mentioned," he waited for her response. She nodded eagerly, wanting to get this out of the way. He waited, and looked at Luke.

"What?" Luke asked, "Why do I have to promise too?"

"A different language is not keeping it a secret or not acting differently in front of the people I'm going to talk about."

Luke looked annoyed. "Continue."

Michel smiled. He knew it would be the closest thing to an "I promise" from him.

"And most importantly, you will not be able to show your face to this community after this for a few weeks," he said this with emphasis, and looked at Kerry. She seemed to be taken aback, and knew what he was trying to say: they would have to leave Brockport.

"Clear?" he asked.

"Will there be any chance of coming back?" she asked quietly.

"In a couple weeks. Suspicion is not on my agenda," he said. While strictly true, he knew a lot can happen in a very short amount of time. This was his perfect way of ensnaring his prey.

She nodded. Apparently, it wasn't as bad as she thought. "Alright, yes," she said slowly, as if waiting to see if she was going to regret it in the middle of saying it.

She didn't.

"Well, tell me what you know," Kerry said, now getting close to jump again.

He couldn't tell her _don't hate me_. Not in front of Luke. He didn't want to appear weak, or love struck. _Luke_ couldn't admit he has ever been love struck, and he's far from a liar.

So, instead of saying it aloud, he thought it, _Please, don't hate me_, and then, "Anne told me she saw three college students. One of them was most likely Alex, and the other one was…" he couldn't say it. And it wasn't even because he feared her reaction, or because he would know what her decision would be once he uttered _those_ names.

"I promised you already I won't act differently around this other vampire hunters, and I won't repeat anything you say here. Come on," she told him, not knowing what she was getting herself in to, "Tell me who these other vampire hunters are."

He took a deep breath, what he thought was his first sign of distress. "The other two are believed to be Nelle and your lab partner Jamie."

There, he said it.

He almost expected her to be okay. She did look shocked, and she almost surprised him when she collapsed.

He had to grab her to prevent her from falling.

* * *

So, yes, she fainted :)

Special thanks:

courtingu: I fail you on longness, don't I? I hope I at least wrote a chapter you enjoyed :)

Angelkrow666: Yes...you were right, it was a "filler" chapter, hope this one is a good enough "Revealing Chapter" for you :)

Isabella Marie Cullen: I shall do what you ask :) Kerry will also have her secret, she will go back to the underground station, and you know what? I am happy you are writing a fanfiction! I LOVE Vampire Knight (Zero/Yuuki fan myself, but I could also live with Zero/AiDeeKay :P), and I would love to read it :) I would also love a link ;)

MythStar Black Dragon: Hope this chapter answered your question :P

Thank you SO much for reviewing :'D Since I started to update again, my story has been getting love, making me happy that people do, indeed, read my story. You could almost make me cry in joy!

By the way, this story will be on short hiatus as I work out a workable story with Nelle as a possible vampire hunter (would explain the whole Alex thing a lot, eh? :) I believe this story will be a couple chapters close to being done. Probably about five to ten more chapters, depending on my planning. As you know, I update every two weeks, so I will give this story a two update break, making it about a month.

Leave my story some love in reviews, yes? ;)


	21. Surprise Attack

Sorry for taking so long updating. My hiatus still stands, but I'm updating for two reasons: 1.) The 17th is this baby's first year anniversary (thanks a LOT for the support and love :)) and 2.) Today is Restless Dreaming Spirit;'s birthday :) So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michel's Perspective and Restless Dreaming Spirit! Hope you enjoy this chapter everyone. Tell me what you think, eh?

* * *

_There, he said it._

_He almost expected her to be okay. she did look shocked, but she surprised him when she collapsed._

_He had to grab her to prevent her from falling._

"She fainted," Luke said.

"Yea, I got that when she started to fall. Go meet Anne and tell her I'll be right up," Michel said calmly.

"What if her human is there?" Luke asked, as if he was looking forward to it.

"You tell them that I'll be there soon. And don't try anything. We don't know if that guy knows anything."

Luke began to walk to their destination, and Michel could hear him grumbling. He caught _uptight_ and _paranoid_, but he kept his eyes on Kerry.

What would happen now, he wondered. Would she change her mind? She wasn't one to stick to things when she found new information, like the time Marsala told her her family was alive, well, and free. She changed sides quickly. It was typical for anyone—humans _and_ vampires—to do what was best for survival. Or would she stick to this plan? He had to exterminate those vampire hunters. _That_ was a fact.

"They sure are recruiting them younger every time," Michel complained under his breath. He sighed and began to carry Kerry towards the direction Luke walked, deviating from the route whenever there was a steep hill he had to climb.

_This is getting me nowhere_, he began to think. Now he began to think about Plan B, something he was ignoring for too long: Is Kerry going to have to die too. Too many vampires were involved in this, and if he let her go, it wouldn't just be rumors anymore. Vampires would know he let her go, and any surfacing vampire hunters would be tacked on her. Did he want that? Other vampires would look for her, and that would end his need to have to finish her off himself, but he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt.

Guilt was something he was never able to live with well.

_Danger makes people so unthinkable things_, Master Brine told him once. Those words were so true back then as they are now. He let Kerry _live_ after she became a double agent because she took him to a closet. He didn't kill her when he woke up, nor did he turn her to keep her from possibly hunting him down and kill him. Why? Because he almost died when he got shot, even more when the sun hit him. He had rather hope that she would keep her word than to eliminate any doubt. _Danger_. What a key element to do unthinkable things. It makes you reconsider a moment's priorities…

He couldn't keep thinking about it anymore. It was too tempting, and anyway, if she became a vampire because of a desperate act, she might regret it later, or could get killed by vampire hunters. What then?

"Mike, hurry _up_," Luke said, sounding impatient and worried. That was never a good sign.

He also didn't like how forced he sounded. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again. Did they get captured? If so, he could have the advantage with the element of surprise. But they couldn't know he knew. "I'm hurrying. She passed out and I'm carrying her," he said as impersonally as possible.

He kneeled on one knee, and tried to wake Kerry up as quietly as he could.

"Kerry," he whispered, right into her ear. She moved a little, but nothing more. "Kerry, please wake up," he said softly. She hissed a little, and held on to Michel tightly.

"You sprained your ankle, didn't you?" he said, using a very quiet voice.

She only nodded. "Why are you whispering? Where's Luke?" she whispered anyways.

Again, he put his lips to her ear, "I think vampire hunters caught them right now. They must have been waiting here for hours, letting the swamp cover their scent, and attacked once Luke got there."

She pulled back to look at him. "Are you going to kill those hunters?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. They stared at each other for a couple seconds, and then he said, "Can you pretend you fainted right now?"

"Why?"

"So that they don't think you came willingly to be turned or something like that."

She pursed her lips, something he had never seen her do. "They'll probably try to attack me anyway, to make sure I'm not 'one of them,'" she said, her conflicting feelings probably starting to get the best of her.

"One of them is your best friend, the other, your lab partner, and the other, your best friend's boyfriend. I very much doubt they would kill you without a second thought." He stood up, helping her get up too.

"Gee, thanks, that makes me feel _much_ better."

"Luke called out to me not even a minute ago, can you play your part? It will go a lot more smoothly," he looked at her exasperatedly.

"Fine," she said, and quickly went limp. He unzipped her jacket, and she tried to resist. "Trust me," he said, pulling back her hand, "It's not what you think. They just can't see it bulging out of your outside pocket," he said.

"Can't see wha—?" she stopped, her eyes huge upon seeing the gun.

"This time, use it on a vampire _hunter_," he said meaningfully, "Just in case they do try to kill you…again." He smiled, but it probably came out wolfish anyways, so he quickly hid it, and carried Kerry again.

"I'll be there in a minute, just going to put her down," he said loudly, though not too loudly, just enough that the vampire hunters would figure he is trying to talk to Luke, but not loud enough to disturb anything.

"Yea, well," Luke said slightly on edge, "Take your time. We have all night."

"Yea, yea," he said back. Luke had only been caught twice, and for someone who has been a vampire that long, it is quite a feat. But when he did get caught, there was a slight edge Michel could always pick up. When they were safe, and he thought back on what happened, he would laugh at Luke's sarcasm.

_We're not safe yet,_ he told himself.

"Stay here," he told Kerry, "If you hear things get out of hand, you run, and drive to where we picked Luke up, and throw off this," he said as he handed her an envelope.

In it contained a letter explaining where they were, what they were going to do, and asking for help in case something went wrong. There was also a plan of what is to happen for both scenarios, but he didn't go into much detail.

"What if the vampires get me?" she asked.

"You're going to be driving my car. No one will mess with you because of that. And you're not going to stick around."

"What about the vampire hunters?"

He looked her straight in the eyes this time, preparing for a lie. "They won't want to deal with you. They want to deal with us, _vampires_. Actually," he said after a break, "Go now. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yes," she said, sounding more like it was a question than an answer.

"Give it to me. I'll call you and tell you if you don't have to drop it off after all."

She gave him her number, and he didn't bother writing it down. He would remember it just fine.

"Alright," he said as he got up, "Go halfway back. We basically went in a straight line. There are some steep hills, so watch your steps."

Kerry sighed. "Good luck Ethan," as she walked back slowly, quietly to where the car was parked.

He stared at Kerry's retreating back, and remembered when she left Marsala's home two years ago.

People always say that a way someone walks says a lot about them, and how they are feeling. He remembered Kerry walking slowly two years ago, as though she were tired, cautious, trying to understand the new concept of life those past three days had given her.

Now, she walked quickly, with a mission, a walk that made Michel almost smile mischievously for two reasons: the odds were starting to get to his favor, and jeans sure have gotten tighter, giving him a nice view.

Before he could forget his friends might –_were_—be in danger, he turned around, and said, "Alright, so what is goin—" barely managing that before he was hit with baseball bat right behind his head. He had expected it to hurt, but he didn't know it would hurt _that_ bad. The knock even made him see lights, and darkness around the edges of his sight.

He groaned, and felt the back of his head. He felt a bit of blood, and now, he didn't bother to get up. They would hit him again, and he might really be knocked out.

"Vampire," he heard a male say. He didn't open his eyes, but tightened his jaw as he realized it was, indeed, Kerry's friends.

"Hunter," he grunted out, "What a pleasant surprise."

The vampire hunter turned him around, and before Michel could act, the hunter showed him a stake. "Careful vampire, we wouldn't want me to freak out and you no longer exist, right?"

"If you want me to keep living, I'm guessing you want something from me?" _Vampire names. It's always vampire names_.

"Names of your victims," the young vampire hunter said.

"No vampire names?" Michel asked sarcastically.

He felt the bat bash his back. He winced in pain, but didn't scream. From the hit, it didn't feel like a young vampire hunter did this.

"There was a girl with you and the other vampire. Apparently, you wanted her alive," said the young vampire hunter. Now that Michel was safely and tightly tied, the vampire hunter sat cross-legged right in front of him. Michel also sat down cross-legged, deciding that he would still live, regardless of any threats they might claim.

"Yes there was a girl with me and my fellow friend. What of her? Is she your girlfriend?" Michel asked lightly, knowing that they might not have anything, but college boys thought that any girl being nice to him was an act of flirtation.

"No, but she is my friend. And I don't like it when things like you mess with my friends."

He leaned in closer. "Too late."

The vampire hunter looked up, and nodded. Once again, Michel was hit on his back. He inhaled a deep breath, debating whether to keep messing with the vampire hunter's head.

"What did you do to her?" the vampire hunter stood up, grabbed Michel's collar, and nearly pulled him off the ground. "Did you hurt her? Because if you hurt her—"

Michel cut him off. "I didn't hurt her. Not the way you mean at least. With me, pleasure and pain are one, vampire hunter." He smiled, pushing in a hint of excitement.

The vampire hunter punched him in the face. It didn't hurt as bad as the bat, but then again, people could lose bats, but not fists.

"Drag him to the car, along with the other ones," the vampire hunter told the person in the back

"I'm proud of you son," Michel heard the person behind him say.

The father grabbed Michel roughly, and pulled him to a big ice cream truck. He opened one door, and quickly shoved him inside.

Anne, Luke, and Seth were sitting in the back, neither of them hurt. Luke took one good look at Michel, and whistled quietly. "Ya _sassed_ 'em?"

"I want them to know I sassed them, that way they know I didn't do anything to her," he explained in a quiet voice.

He sat up, waiting for the momentary dizziness to stop.

He heard two older voices talking in the front of the truck, and three younger voices right outside. One of them was a girl's, and the other sounded awfully familiar.

"We'll find her, and talk to her," he heard the girl say.

"Do it quick, and ask her if he did anything to her," the vampire hunter said.

"I can't believe this is happening," he heard the familiar male voice say, "I can't believe it. I _talked_ to them."

"You know vampires, Alex. They deceive. My dad and his friend are taking them to a storage center. You guys might as well get some rest, and we can meet there."

"You're going too?"

"Yea," the vampire hunter said tiredly, "I have a bio exam tomorrow, and she didn't show up at the café to study."

"Alright. I don't know what to tell Kerry."

"What did she tell you about him?"

"That they met before, and his little sister was kidnapped, just like she was, and they bonded, but he had to go or something," she said in one breathe, her voice obvious that she didn't believe the story anymore.

"He may have influenced her. Tell her, then, that his sister is having nightmares because it's getting closer to the anniversary of her kidnapping or something."

"Hey, he's got what you got, Mike," Luke whispered sarcastically.

"No, I would have said that I was found by the kidnappers and taken the day before I was supposed to go to court to testify against them. It would have been 20 years for the kidnappers in jail, and they wouldn't stand the thought." He leaned on the door, wondering how far Kerry got. When he heard the young people leave, he knew they were going to see if the body of the girl Michel had talked about earlier was still there. He knew it wouldn't be, and he figured they would think she woke up and left the area.

He didn't expect them to go charging into the truck, and ask him, "Where do you have her?"

For once in his life, a plan didn't come to him in the heat of the moment. He had to think a couple seconds before saying, "I have her hidden somewhere. And unless you let us go, she is going to die."

The young vampire hunter punched him again. "You're going to take us there if you want to live."

"She's special to you all. You will want to know where she is. You won't do anything to me…Jamie."

The vampire hunter grew surprised. "How did you…?"

"I've known about you all along. I needed an advantage. Now, let us go, if you want the girl alive. And trust me; more people will disappear if you don't do as _I_ say."

Jamie seemed to think for a minute. Then, "No, I won't do what you want. Think about it this way: for every one of my friends and humans that die, one of your vampires will too."

"We'll start with the Southerner, because he's the one that came with you, and I'm sure he is a good friend—brother even."

Jamie's father went to the back, and pulled out a revolver and placed it on Luke's forehead. Luke only closed his eyes, waiting for his death.

"Wait," Michel said. He looked at Jamie right in the eye, "Let's make this into a game."

"I don't play games with the likes of you, _vampire_," he said vehemently.

"But you are. I just sent someone to tell the _entire_ vampire community in Rochester _and_ Buffalo to keep a watch out for my fellow friends and me. If they don't see us physically, your friends, the ones that are living in _my_ home, are going to be taken, one by one."

Jamie's breathe got caught, and he was obviously reevaluating the situation. He took a deep breath, and asked, "What do you want?"

Michel smiled. Things were finally going his way tonight.

He started to practice his exceptional hearing, trying to figure out what caused a single rustle, who was shuffling his feet without seeing, who was clicking the safety off of his gun. Once he figured he had acute listening skills warmed up, he asked Jamie, and the other vampire hunters, "Ever played Russian Roulette?"

* * *

Michel is a daredevil! Been feeling a little more optimistic lately, but it could just be the happiness of how much love my story has been getting. Thank you all :)

---I go to New York durign the week of July 13-19 to visit family and to go to my Summer Orientation! Because the 17th falls there, my dear buddy MyButterfly364 will be posting this for me. Go read her story as a thanks, no?---

So, Restless Dreaming Spirit read the chapters she missed, and she told me: I should update the 15th just because it's her birthday. I shall. So, here it was :)

So, because of the whole college thing, I won't be able to update as frequently as I used to, but rest assured, I WILL post :) And of course, I WILL keep reading all the amazing CotN fanfics that may come up in the near future. As well as any D'sB stories, and/or AWTE stories, and/or AHM stoties, and any VVVelde stories that may come up :)

SPECIAL thanks to:

Angelkrow666: I'm glad you were able to see his actions! I always feel he is showing too much of himself, and I have to tell myself a million times that it's because it's HIS head...glad you see it that way! (And hey, you better be writing more of your story. It's getting damn good, and I wanna see an update when I get back from Summer Orientation :)

MythStar Black Dragon: I'm glad you didn't see it coming :)

Isabella Marie Cullen: They most definitely will be going to the station, that I promise you :) She will meet the vampire family, and her secret will be revealed, that one huge secret you told me she should have ;) Your (and Angelkrow666's) suggestions sure have helped me make this story as suspenseful as possible). By the way, you will have to tell me what site you posted that Vampire Knight story. I would love to read it :)

courtingu: So, the whole Kerry/Michel thing is getting giggly. This chapter is definitely longer than what I usually have, so I hope you enjoy this :)

Queen dun: I hope you're still reading this story! It means a lot to me :)

vampymichel: First of all, I love your name. Second of all...I wish you were him. Thirdly: I will never stop writing :) Hope you're enjoying the story this far.

dee: And I love love love that you're reading and liking :)

Natteralwaysbetter: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will keep updating no worries :)

So, I don't know how many smiley faces I have up there, but you guys do, indeed, make me happy happy happy.

Review!


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